I was expecting the first shot to be a melody with some serious kick, maybe even directly referring to 2 Tone golden era. Instead the band went for rather more melancholic vibe. First sounds already brought to my mind the memorable “Ghost Town”. It’s later only confirmed with every trombone entrance. Terry’s Voice fits in gently but expressive. That’s a little more remote and probably very subjective connotation, but when piano bumps in I immediately think of Ruben Gonzales and his “Pueblo Nuevo” known widely from Buena Vista Social Club project. Whole sound is incredibly perfected and if I were to compare it to anything, the easiest things would be to collate “Vote For Me” with feelings of first hearing “The Liberty Of Norton Folgate” by Madness – in a way it’s different, but still familiar, very good and as before. Feeling was only magnified by arrival of violin sound in the background.
This song definitely lets you have big hopes for the whole “Encore” album. For a first original material after 20 years it’s really great. The Specials – we welcome you back and we wait for more.
I have founded RudeMaker in 2008. For almost twenty years now I've been very much into ska, rocksteady and reggae scene. Professionally I'm a graphic designer and web developer, so obviously I also run all technical stuff around here. As I am extremely lazy, I do not post here as much as I'd like to, but generally speaking I write news, reviews and show reports with a focus on conteporary bands.
Discussion