The Coral - Roots & Echoes

Roots & Echoes marks something of a change of scenery for The Coral. Not so long ago, it was all lepers, sea shanties, and lonely suicides round their ends, but this-–the follow-up to 2005’s The Invisible Invasion--tells quite a different tale. Recorded at Oasis’ home studio in Buckinghamshire at the personal request of the Brothers Gallagher, this record captures the band casting out much of the bad vibes and concentrating on making a warm, vintage-sounding record with classic appeal. Of course, they can’t help throwing in the odd spot of heart-in-mouth high tragedy-–"Remember Me", a fraught tale of a very one-sided love affair, concludes with a howl of guitar and a final spasm of drums as vocalist James Skelly discovers the girl he carries a torch for has a ring on her finger. Elsewhere, though, there’s beautifully recorded excursions into classic soul ("Put The Sun Back"), acoustic-tinged bossa nova ("Not So Lonely"), and Doors-like organ jams ("She’s Got a Reason") which prove, as if there were any doubt, that this band have chops beyond the ability to bash out a ragged sea shanty or two. It is, in short, the sound of a more mature Coral, and while there are surely some fans who’ll choose now to jump ship, disappointed at the lack of piratical adventure, all in all it’ll be their loss. –-Louis Pattison