If Coventry's finest released only two records, 1979’s exemplary debut The Specials and 2019's stellar comeback Encore, they’d be ska-punk legends. The first record, featuring sympathetic production from Armed Forces–era Elvis Costello, captured Britain's socioeconomic divide with irresistible rhythms and razor-sharp lyrical observations. The new record, featuring Pakistani-Bosnian activist Saffiyah Khan, rocketed to the top of the UK Billboard chart. In the 40 years between triumphs, they fragmented into various configurations, like the underrated Fun Boy Three, but when Horace Panter, Terry Hall, and Gig Harbor–based Lynval Golding are in sync, pop and politics come together in perfect harmony. by Kathy Fennessy