The Specials
Encore
Island
Apr 01, 2019 Web Exclusive
Britain 2019 seems readymade for the recorded return of The Specials. A decade of austerity, rising homelessness, abandoned high streets, far right resurgence, and the sheer incompetence of Brexit!
Our world again reflects the one into which the Two Tone legends dropped “Ghost Town,” perfectly capturing the desolation of the early 1980s era. Today, they don’t have the same spiky, youthful bounce that infused punk with classic ska and there is even a question so to whether this is even “really” The Specials at all (founder Jerry Dammers is still nowhere to be seen, singer Neville Staple and guitarist Roddy Radiation have left, and drummer John Bradbury died in 2015), but this doesn’t detract from Encore as another worthy addition to the Specials cannon.
The remaining Specials have dropped a political statement piece perfect for today’s Britain, a doom-laden album packed with humor, reflection, and nostalgia. The fact that the band now reside in the age group most embroiled in right-wing rhetoric and looking for a rose-tinted past that never was, makes it all the more prescient and welcome.
Musically, Encore isn’t an excursion into new sounds (what were we expecting a grime album?) but a continuation of their perfected mellowed ska, Latin flavours, subtle funk, and spoken word that typified their later original output.
On Encore the youthful anger has been truly replaced by cynical, middle-aged sarcasm and wry-observation, but this doesn’t remove any of its vitality as social commentary. Opener “Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys” (a slick Chic-disco cover of The Equals’ original) imagines a “half breed” world where race is an irrelevancy.
“B.L.M.” (Black Lives Matter) is Lynval Golding recalling the tale of his father coming to the UK on the Windrush to rebuild a war-torn nation and his experiences of racism in the UK and the U.S.-his spoken-word vocals echoing issues that should be done with by now. Two tracks in Encore have already said more than many entire albums.
“Vote for Me” takes an obvious swipe at the pitfalls of populist politicians on the take and “The Lunatics” reframes Fun Boy Three’s “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum” as a downbeat reggae-jam, with a more mournful air. It’s a perfect encapsulation of modern politics as Brexit grinds to a halt and Trump side-steps morals.
Where Encore becomes a real artefact of our times is with “10 Commandments,” in collaboration with activist Saffiyah Khan, who “went viral” calmly standing up to an angry far-right thug whilst wearing a Specials t-shirt. Over a spacey dub cut, Khan recites a defiant, feminist message that gives a middle finger to misogyny, racism, and all other manner of cancerous growths on society.
This is the most visceral message in a sea of “love each other” optimism that doesn’t really have enough bite to feel like an entirely real fight back. The mantle has been handed to younger bands to bare their teeth, while Encore displays elder statesmen going back to what they do best, representing where they are now.
Encore won’t change the world, it won’t inspire the youth to fight but it cements The Specials place as vital political commentators with a legacy that can’t be understated. (www.thespecials.com)
Author rating: 7/10
Average reader rating: 4/10
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June 19th 2021
7:18am
The fact that the band now reside in the age group most embroiled in right-wing rhetoric and looking for a rose-tinted past that never was, makes it all the more prescient and welcome.
- Laguna Niguel Pro Concrete