LOVABLE Scouse nutters The Coral return with another eclectic mix of off-the-wall balladry and some plain country/pop symphony/bluesy nonsense.
Safe to say, if you were baffled by their eponymous CD, their follow-up, Magic and Medicine, is bound to addle the old grey matter.
Never knowingly using one style when 11 will do, the six-piece echo Super Furry Animals or Gorky's Zygotic Mynci for sheer experimentalism.
At times the sparse arrangements of tracks like opening pairing In the Forest and Don't Think You're The First come across all Animals or Herman's Hermits.
Other standouts include recent single Pass It On, the rollicking Gypsy Market Blues and the rumbling Bill McCai.
Not many bands these days, hands tied by play-it-safe record execs and constant touring, can push the envelope any, so The Coral provides a welcome port in a sea of blandness.
Peter Magill
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