England, Half English

The cockney popster has come a long way from the folk-punk missives of the ’80s — and not far at all. As always, he keeps one eye on class consciousness, but boosted by his collaborations with Wilco on the Woody Guthrie-inspired Mermaid Avenue, he works the roots-pop angle, too. Elsewhere, the ska romp ”Dreadbelly” and the ungainly labor diatribe ”NPWA” (No Power Without Accountability) seek a radio-friendly middle ground that has never suited Bragg.