In 2022 the plan is for The Coral to be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of their classic self titled debut album. If you were following back in 2002, you will recall that an exciting new wave of sixties style garage rock and flowery UK psychedelia had arrived. The White Stripes headed the charge in the US with similarly rough edged yet tuneful ripples washing in from acts like The Von Bondies and Sweden’s The Hives among many others. Meanwhile in the UK, from out of nowhere, a group of freakbeat inspired scousers called, perfectly, The Coral came crashing in with full force gale impact. A hit single helped announce the arrival, ‘Dreaming Of You’ was a worthy occupant of the hit parade (despite its relevance fast fading by then) but that album was a genuine surprise. To this day ‘The Coral’ remains a vital explosion of classic Liverpudlian songwriting spilling over with riffs, hooks, sea-shanties, Barrett-esque whimsy and a spirit of anything goes freedom. I remember well in 2002 veteran psych-heads urging me to find them a vinyl copy to sit on their shelves alongside their original ‘S.F. Sorrow’, ‘Village Green’ and ‘Ogden’s’ albums. A fair shout too, this is the lineage in which the Coral belonged.

Jump forward to 2021 and ‘Coral Island’ finds the band still very much existing in this same space. But do not let that imply they have not moved forward, the very nature of this music is open minded and explorative, the idea that a group could still be doing this so well and simultaneously be low on ideas does not add up. To be this exceptional at the style is no small achievement. If you want to hear a modern band enthralled by the sounds of sixties psychedelia and garage rock, there are no shortage. Just go and read one of the specialist publications available and pick from the many four star, afraid to offend, reviews you find there and fill your sandals. The problem is just mastering the production and the sound is not enough without the songs and original ideas; for me there are too many I hear nailing their perfect 1967 mellotron photocopies without bothering to write anything worth listening to. That is where The Coral are a class above with double LP ‘Coral Island’ being, when stripped back, a lesson in modern Merseybeat songwriting. Beneath that style lies a lot of substance.

James Skelly remains at the centre of the band’s compositional hub, although the credits also pull in valuable contributions from Nick Power, Paul Duffy, Richard Turvey, Ian Skelly and Paul Molloy. James cannot deny his natural ear for a juicy melodic tune, and he has shown few signs of losing touch with this for two decades now. It should not be underestimated what a rarity it is for a band to be still producing music that nestles easily among their best work after twenty years. Few last that long anyway but of those that do, I am struggling to think of too many. I do not believe any revisionist attempts to suggest the Rolling Stones made anything close to their best work in the early 1980s, I could make an argument on behalf of R.E.M. in 2001 and a little beyond but it is rare achievement in long running groups. Twenty years is a big ask for any band to continue functioning creatively, let alone make a record like this.

‘Coral Island’ is structured in two thematic parts, firstly ‘Welcome to Coral Island’ and then ‘The Ghost Of Coral Island.’ The first presents the island as a helter-skelter, timeless, seaside arena with a dizzying cast of 20^th century characters. The second half dives headlong into the lives of those occupants, peering into the kaleidoscope of their mind’s eyes. There is between song narration courtesy of James and Ian Skelly’s grandad Ian Murray. This does give the whole record a feel of the classic late sixties concept album, which was clearly intentional but there is another truth about those post ‘Sgt Pepper’ records, including ‘Pepper’ itself, that must not be lost; the concept is merely a framework on which to hang a collection of songs.

Tasteful homages to the sonic echoes of mid-century pop music frequently jump forth. Catch that twangy guitar break on ‘My Best Friend,’ the oh-so achingly gorgeous mellotron sound of ‘Autumn Has Come’ or even the tacky pub piano featured on ‘The Calico Girl.’ Still, I always come back to admiring the roots, those classy songs and that James Skelly knack of making every tune so instantly listenable. And look beyond the Coral Island idea to see that these are still just timeless human heartbeat tracks at their core. The longing that you feel in ‘Change Your Mind’ is universal, as is the warmth expressed on ‘My Best Friend.’ In fact, there are at least eight songs here that legitimately rank amongst The Coral’s greatest work, while the remainder are in no way filler or lesser constructs. To put it in the plainest terms possible, there is not a weak link on this entire double album. I will put my cards on the table and admit that sixties flavored psych-pop and rock is something of a sweet spot for me, but you hear so many copyists doing it badly these days. Too many pay more attention to perfecting their authentic sounding flange effects and sourcing the correct type of floral kipper ties than they do writing decent songs and music. When a band like The Coral pay the form the respect it deserves, the seriousness of approach pays out with the end product. In the case of ‘Coral Island,’ the band have created a double LP that is swirling with wild, timeless, colourful, audio magic from beginning to end.

Search for a vinyl pressing of ‘Coral Island’ here:

https://www.discogs.com/release/18541153-The-Coral-Coral-Island