Photo: Press
It's been a great year for British guitar music so far. Suede's return shows them come back with one of the best albums of their career, Richard Ashcroft is back with a new direction, and now The Coral have arrived with a new album under their arm.
It's not easy following up a back catalogue with the quality the timeless hits like 'Bill McCai', 'Dreaming Of You', and 'In The Morning' - expectations are obviously always going to be high. Fortunately, The Coral have sensitivity for always getting it right.
This time around, they took five years to get what they wanted.
"We had some of those songs just after Butterfly House but we didn't know how to present them," The Coral frontman James Skelly tells Gigwise. "We were caught between what we were doing and Butterfly House and this one."
Fortunately, the decision to take a break from The Coral has been very productive. Skelly has produced "four or five albums", released The Coral recordings done between 2005 and 2007 called, as an album called, The Curse Of Love in 2014. He's also been running his record label, Skeleton Key Records, touring with his younger brother Ian Skelly's band - not to mention a solo project.
It appears that all these experiences have fed into making the album the band's most accomplished sounding album yet. In particular, his well chiseled production skills were put to use for only the second time in the Coral's career (The Curse Of Love was produced by him too) and the results are outstanding.
From the first few seconds through to the final track, it's the sound of a band that have put their heart and soul into crafting the absolute best they can. Producer Rich Turvey, who collaborated with Skelly on the Blossoms EP, was also sat at the controls. "Because he's younger he's open to different ideas maybe," says Skelly.
Open mindedness was certainly needed they album feels completely borderless, like a musical frontier where anything goes. Skelly's diverse musical taste certainly plays a part on this: "From Charlie Patton - the oldest blues - to The Bangles - I like all kinds of music", he reveals.
The common thread, though, is the band's boldest shift sonically in their career - it was a decisive decision that made the album work. "We wanted to bring the rhythm to the forefront rather than the guitars" explains Skelly. "We wanted it to be more monotonous and driving and more space for the rhythm." I ask if there was particular Krautrock record that helped spur this decision. "I got the idea from this record called Demon Fuzz. I don't know where it's from or what it is . I just heard it." he answers.
But Skelly insists that the appropriation of krautrock is not a new discovery. "I think we kind of had a krautrock feel on Night Freak And The Sons Of Becker album. But we put some things aside and concentrate on others. Butterfly House was meant to be this haunted end of the pier, it's meant to be like that programme Carnivàle. This album, though leant itself to this kind of rhythm. It wasn't like I'd never heard Can, it was just the right backdrop for the lyrics." he explains.
Fortunately his killer instinct for what would work has paid off. Distance Inbetween is a completely hypnotising listen. The cyclical rhythms of opening cut 'Connector' work to induce a trance like state that a lot of the best esoteric electronic music can create. Meanwhile, 'White Bird' shows correlation with his label signees The Sundowners. It's also reminiscent of more experimental Crosby, Stills, and Nash - with exquisite dreamy harmonies and otherworldly synths.
Elsewhere, 'Chasing The Tail Of A Dream' nods to The Coral's earliest stuff, yet the monotonous galloping rhythms aren't lured into any conventional structure and the captivating feel of the album persists. But like any great album, a diverse tapestry of rhythm and melody is explored. The title track sees Skelly crooning over a subtle back beat. Meanwhile, 'Holy Revelation' is the Coral's twist on soul music, and 'She Runs The River' sounds like Pink Floyd. Lastly, 'Miss Fortune' is a real stand out and is up there with the greatest hits in terms of snappy pop sensibility.
This spectacular album is surely going to see a resurgence in an already strong following - most of their upcoming tour is sold out. Importantly, though, The Coral wouldn't be standing where they are now if it wasn't for the contribution of Deltasonic records founder Alan Wills, who tragically passed away in 2014. The band officially announced that the album is dedicated to him.
"How much of an important figure was he?" I ask. "Massive. He was out mentor really. He was one of my best friends. Did he change your life? “Yeah he made it all like a film for us and made us believe we could do it."
Distance Inbetween is out on 4 March via Ignition Records.
Take a peek at The Coral’s UK tour dates below and head over here for tickets to the shows and more information.
Fri March 04 2016 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Riverside
Sat March 05 2016 - GLASGOW O2 ABC
Mon March 07 2016 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Tue March 08 2016 - NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
Thu March 10 2016 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
Fri March 11 2016 - SHEFFIELD Leadmill
Sat March 12 2016 - MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Tue March 15 2016 - OXFORD O2 Academy2
Wed March 16 2016 - LONDON The Forum, Kentish Town
