The Coral, a young six-man band originating from a small town on England's west coast, may have the right idea for rising to mainstream stardom, but the band falls far short of being an indie rock standout.
While The Coral's sound is a unique blend of soft rock and folk, they have a long way to go to effectively create a solid style and identity; their music often seems unrefined and shaky. The guitars melodies on their latest release, "Magic and Medicine," mesh well with the plodding rhythm and mellowness of James Skelly's vocals.
Songs such as "Liezah" and "All Of Our Love" have a certain flow and originality that comes from the band's ability to incorporate many styles into their own. In other tracks, however, the guitar wanders from beat and bridges into loud poppy riffs that overpower Skelly's vocals and clash badly.
"Milkwood Blues," for example, starts slow and monotonous but has breaks of loud, repeating guitar riffs. Discrepancies like these come across as forced and uninspired, since these riffs are neither catchy nor unique. The Coral's effort to incorporate a more commercially friendly aspect in their songs is a paradox to the creativity they use in experimenting with musical styles.
Skelly's lyrics are bland and formulaic at times. Inane couplets like, "Sugar and spice and everything nice/ You won't think twice about sacrifice" and "Black crow nights and chimney tops/ and one too many sad songs" lack direction and seem to have nothing to say. In "Bill McCai," however, Skelly tells the old story of an alcoholic father and "the lonely wife that can't stand the sight of him."
His style, like the bands, is irregular. "Magic and Medicine" is a bold effort for a young band, but leaves a consistency to be desired.
