Like Culture, Burning Spear and other great Jamaican bands of the Seventies, England's UB40 uses reggae's joyous buzz to put across some devastating social observations. Behind the vivid cartoon cover and pumping, singsong title track of the band's fifth album lurks a metaphor as potent as Bob Marley's "Small Axe." Apartheid isn't mentioned by name during "Rat in Me Kitchen," but by the time toaster and trumpet player Astro has run through the chorus for the third time, the South African connection should be obvious. To hook into UB40's thoughtful groove is to open yourself to suggestion.

Once you do, there's no mistaking the message. "I've got to be blatant in this time," Astro declares in the skanking statement of purpose "Tell It Like It Is." Even when Robin and Ali Campbell's voices come together in rough, compelling harmony on a you-could-fall-in-love-too song like "You Could Meet Somebody," there's a telling edge: "From brief encounters, habits grow."

The Campbells have been on a songwriting roll since the band honed its instrumental chops on Labour of Love, UB40's 1983 album of classic reggae covers, and the originals on Rat in the Kitchen at least equal those on 1984's excellent Geffrey Morgan. The nameless dread triggered by nuclear "defenses" permeates the haunting "Watchdogs," and even when UB40 ponders life a little self-righteously, as on "Looking Down at My Reflection," the songs are supported by muscular arrangements and a beefy rhythm section. The band bemoans the dehumanizing effects of capitalism on "Don't Blame Me": "Don't blame me for wanting more/The facts are too hard to ignore/I'm scared to death of poverty/I only want what's best for me." But unlike most agitpop, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Just try not to. (RS 484)

MARK COLEMAN