The Coral
THE Good Ship Coral was drifting somewhat before it found its moorings earlier this year with Coral Island. A sprawling conceptual piece about a faded seaside town, the band’s acclaimed 10th album landed precisely 20 years after their debut EP, “The Oldest Path”. “Liverpool at that time was under the spell of The La’s,” recalls singer James Skelly. “But we were from outside, from the Wirral. We’d stand on the beach and see Wales on one side, Liverpool on the other. We wanted that Liverpool thing, the harmonies and sea shanties, and we loved the quirky psychedelia of Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. We made a conscious effort to put that together into something different.”
Honing their signature blend of psych-folk, skiffle, garage rock, Merseybeat and jangle pop, Coral Island has rejuvenated the band; two new albums are already near completion. “It’s heartening to know that sometimes people want what you actually are,” says keyboardist Nick Power. “We’re really good at haunted pre-Beatles rock’n’roll and that Mersey maritime thing: the docks, the river and the city. It suits us, and we probably do it better than anyone.”
THE CORAL (2002, DELTASONIC)
Rousing debut produced by Ian Broudie, featuring singles “Skeleton Key”, “Dreaming Of You” and “Goodbye”
SKELLY: We’re rehearsing now for the first album tour we’re doing next year. It’s good to roll out some of the tunes after not doing them for 15 years, but I think I need to go into some kind of fitness camp for it. It’s got loads of energy!
Writing it was the most profound bit. Everything went up a gear after we met [] Alan Wills. He had this manic energy and belief in us. He said, “You need to stop gigging, go away and write for a year.” It
