Album Review: The Coral - Coral Island

The Coral has a history of producing classic tracks that have provided the soundtrack to many of our lives since the early 2000’s. Best known for hits “Dreaming of You” and “In The Morning”, the Wirral-based band have done it again with their latest album Coral Island a two-disced hour-long compilation, which mixes dialogue with a showcase of their musical diversity.

The album begins with ‘Welcome To Coral Island’, a description of what the band perceives to be Coral Island, providing a ethereal and almost spooky introduction, which continues throughout the album telling you a story. You can’t help but notice the parallels between the “Coral Island and local seaside towns like Blackpool: “on the piers on the promenades, the boardwalks…of innocent dreams”.  The second track ‘Lover Undiscovered’ is accompanied by a psychedelic music video, and maintains the summer-day beach feel that comes with this type of acoustic composition. What follows is ‘Change Your Mind’ and ‘Mist On The Water’, both of which provide a similar summer-time expression. 

‘Pavilions of The Mind’ acts as a buffer between tracks, and provides a question for the ears, with it’s ragged boomwacker-esque percussion and descriptions of heaven.  What comes next is like a second chapter for the album, with ‘Vacancy’ and ‘My Best Friend’, an upbeat offering to the album.

What comes next is ‘Arcade Hallucinations’, which continues the description of Coral Island. ‘The Game She Plays’ is reminiscent of 60s acoustic rock, followed by ‘Autumn Has Come’ which takes a completely different turn, as the band dabble in what could only be described as the vintage country genre. It belongs in the background of a western movie, where the protagonist is featured on a road trip in a long tracking shot – think Notting Hill market scene but on a horse.

‘The End Of The Pier’ brings us to the end of disc 1, ensuring us that the golden age has just begun, enticing the listener to turn over that vinyl and get ready for another half hour of music voyage.

Disc two greets us with the spooky sounds of birds in ‘The Ghost Of Coral Island’. A metronome provides the soundtrack to your fears, and a ghostly accordion perfectly sets the tone of wonder for whatever is coming next.

An organ carries ‘The Golden Age’, a similar track to ‘Autumn Has Come’ in its rumination of country movies. ‘Faceless Angel’ brings us back to the present, with a heavy guitar beat, and according to Spotify is the most listened to track on the album, so definitely worth a listen if you don’t have an hour to spare for the whole album.

The second chapter of this disc begins with ‘The Great Lafayette’, telling us more about the Inn, the Island, and it’s inhabitants. It is impossible to not be drawn into the speakers voice. A highlight of this area is ‘Take Me Back To The Summertime’, a head-bopping tune that brings back that Beach Boys-esque beach day nostalgia.

The second-to-last chapter, headed by ‘Old Photographs’, provides a cool-down for the listener, and the album is finished off nicely with tracks like ‘Land Of The Lost’, a hit waiting to be discovered.

Gone are the jovial tunes of The Coral’s past, and although they will be missed, this new wave of descriptive theatre and music in an album is both refreshing and intriguing. It is refreshing to be provided with an album so extensive, and designed to be played in order as one listening experience; something that we do not often get as music has turned digital and we as listeners found the shuffle button. This album is the exception to that, and is designed to be enjoyed in one sitting as a journey – it in itself could justify as a movie musical, and must be enjoyed chronologically so you get the full effect of this masterpiece.  

Words: Emma Bailey