So, The Coral: what the hell happened?

[ReActor]

I guess my disappointment about their recent second album stems from a major love of their first.

What made the first album brilliant was the energy and verve of the music, with many ideas packed into every song, and the balance of tragedy and comedy in the lyrics.

I bought Magic and Medicine based on the first single Pass It On (the best song on the album in my opinion) and on a few favourable reviews I read which suggested that this new album is a step in the right direction for the Coral.

I couldn't disagree more. This album is stripped of all the excitement and humour that made the first one great. James Skelly, despite being an excellent singer, seems devoid of energy, having developed what I call Travis Wearyitis (a serious condition which plagues bands today, characterised by a marked just-can't-be-arsed tone in the vocals. See also: Travis, Coldplay, Athlete, Elbow and David Gray). The weirdness of his songs actually seems more forced this time round.

Why critics love Magic and Medicine is beyond me, so I'm asking for general public opinion. It did sell well. Am I on my own here? What do you reckon?

 

[maxi--]

James Skelly is the type of artist whos absolutely brimming with ideas, you can tell that.

So i think as they release music, you'll get a mixture of utter gash, and brilliance...Pass It On the single is wonderful, genuine and not affected in the way other sixties style pop bands are at the moment, namely The Thrills.

It's also very nice to see stuff like that do well in the charts again, as most people completely ignored The Shins commercially.

*edit* to add, another good example of idea filled country pop artists are The Sleepy Jacskon, whon in a relatively short time have gone from prog noodling twattery, which some people enjoyed, to lovely lovely country pop (ala Beach Boys, Byrds, Shins) quite like The Coral.

p.s sorry about going off the subject.