The Coral - Magic And Medicine (CD)
Sound:
B Music: B+
The
Coral are a Merseyside six-piece between the ages of 19 and 22. They're led by singer/guitarist/main
songwriter James Skelly, who has composed the majority of their second
full-length release, Magic And Medicine. This album is fairly consistent, with fun
songs and moody production. It all
starts with In The Forest, which is
an interesting choice for an opener, as it is mostly organ-driven and
minimal. It doesn't set the pace for the
rest of the album and isn't the strongest track. Don't
Think You're The First follows and has a catchy shimmy-shake that's almost Bossa-Nova
in style, with some decent harmonies. Liezah
sounds like an outtake from The Beatles' White
Album, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
At
times, Skelly sounds like Coldplay's Chris Martin fronting Captain Beefheart
& His Magic Band (Milkwood Blues). At other times, he comes off like a disciple
of The Monkees' Michael Nesmith (Careless
Hands). The music is wildly varied,
ranging from Dylan-esque raveup (Talkin'
Gypsy Market Blues) to employing a three-piece brass section (the Revolver-esque Eskimo Lament).
One
of the highlights of Magic And Medicine
is Bill McCai, a folk song from some
sad sack whose life passed him by. The
protagonist of the song is fat, bald, ill, unhappy at home, unappreciated at
work. So he offs himself. Yeah, I gave the ending away, but you should
hear how it goes anyway. The weakest
track is Pass It On which sounds
listless with so-so vocal delivery and lyrics. It seems that maybe being the main songwriter
in the band is hard on James Skelly. Maybe
he should farm out a few more songs to his bandmates. Not every track on "Magic and
Medicine" is a killer, which is a shame, as this group shows a lot of
promise.
The
PCM CD sound is solid stereo, so there are no playback problems or annoyances. This
also applies to a bonus CD included, titled Nightfreak & The Sons of Becker. If you enjoy anything off Nightfreak, consider it a bonus. It sounds like collection of unfinished
tracks and B-sides, but it certainly has its' charms.
- Michael J. Farmer
