“I Confess” -- THE ENGLISH BEAT
Depending on your tastes, Special Beat Service, the Beat’s third LP, is either the pinnacle of their career or an early warning sign of the horrors to come as the band first split into different groups (General Public, Fine Young Cannibals) and then moved on to solo albums, with each successive release having more lows than highs, until the lows got so deep longtime fans were left wondering if they’d only ever imagined the highs.
My own tastes prioritize their earlier, more frenetic material, but I loved the band so much I still bought every album by every offshoot on vinyl, and this particular song is such a perfect confection that every time I listen to it I question my preferences, because maybe this is what they should have kept on trying to do as long as they could.
It’s pop, but it’s also sly and surprising, with an insistent rhythm that propels you past any suspicions you might have that your parents would probably enjoy it, too.