

No other band can make guitars chatter and mesh like The English Beat. Their pin-sharp pop is based on that rickety racket, sliced across Caribbean and African rhythms (“Ranking Full Stop” and “Ackee 1-2-3,” respectively), lyrical sax, and fathomless bass. “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Too Nice to Talk To” push past their joyful origins in the late-‘70s 2-Tone ska scene into introverted post-punk funk, while “Save It for Later” is their take on chiming ‘60s folk rock. “Can't Get Used to Losing You” even uses those scratchy axes to revitalize Andy Williams.