Coral - Coral Island

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 9 / 6 / 2021

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Review

The Coral from Merseyside are one of the UK's most original bands. Their new double album, 'Coral Island' sees the band paying tribute to Britain's seaside resorts. Part One celebrates the romance of high summer, while Part Two chronicles the darkness of a tourist-free winter. In both parts, the tracks are stitched together with spoken monologues by singer James Skelly's 85 year-old grandad, Ian Murray. This turns the album into something rather dramatic.....almost worthy of a stage musical or mini-series. The summer side (Part One) demonstrates The Coral's knack for tuneful guitar pop with sumptuous vocal harmonies on 'Change Your Mind' and 'Mist on the River' which sound more reminiscent of a California band than a group from The Wirral. 'Vacancy' benefits from the nostalgic sound of Nick Power's fairground organ. Part Two is more melancholy but, despite this, the tunes are still bright and melodic. 'Summertime' could almost have been written by Paul McCartney and is a gem while 'Old Photographs' was inspired by nostalgic images of Llandudno and New Brighton. 'Coral Island' is something different and vibrant......a very entertaining double album.

Track Listing:-

1 Welcome To Coral Island
2 Lover Undiscovered
3 Change Your Mind
4 Mist On The River
5 Pavilions Of The Mind
6 Vacancy
7 My Best Friend
8 Arcade Hallucinations
9 The Game She Plays
10 Autumn Has Come
11 The End Of The Pier
12 The Ghost Of Coral Island
13 Golden Age
14 Faceless Angel
15 The Great Lafayette
16 Strange Illusions
17 Take Me Back To The Summertime
18 Telepathic Waltz
19 Old Photographs
20 Watch You Disappear
21 Late Night At The Border
22 Land Of The Lost
23 The Calico Girl
24 The Last Entertainer

Band Links:-

https://thecoral.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/TheCoral/
https://twitter.com/thecoralband

Play in YouTube:-

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