Encore

AlbumFeb 01 / 201910 songs, 40m 41s
2 Tone
Popular

The veteran ska-punk bands addresses Brexit, austerity, Tory rule, Black Lives Matter and mental health on this welcome return.

The Specials - Encore

6.9 / 10

Thirty-eight years later, the leaders of the anti-racist 2 Tone movement return with sound and politics intact

The Specials didn't end their golden age cleanly and they didn't reunite smoothly, either.

7.0 / 10

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!

8 / 10

‘Encore’ has no right being this good. The Specials’ first album in four decades, it’s a ruthlessly entertaining, hugely

Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter are best when sounding both anthemic and doom-laden

Are The Specials still special?

Neither awful, nor amazing, the ska icons' long-awaited comeback has its moments. Review by Thomas H Green.

7 / 10