Originating in the often squat-based east London ska-punk scene, the Skints have built up a formidable live reputation around Europe’s festivals for their “east London reggae”, which takes in male/female harmonies, soul, reggae, dub, garage and whatever else they pick up along the way. Their third album captures their appeal: hard-hitting lyrics about life in the UK delivered over feelgood grooves so sunny they could be from Jamaica. Where Did You Go and the Specials-y Friends & Business are particularly infectious. Veteran capital reggae toaster Tippa Irie augments the quartet on This Town and Tazer Beam. The album’s title refers to an imaginary radio station, and the songs form a tribute to the music they grew up listening to, from grime to Lily Allen. Familiar chord changes abound, amid carnival-friendly skanking and DJ pastiches, but few British bands play this music with such fun and invention, not least when they turn Black Flag’s furious My War into a delicious lover’s rock stomp.
