THE CORAL release ‘Vacancy’ from their forthcoming studio album ‘Coral Island’

THE CORAL release 'Vacancy' from their forthcoming studio album 'Coral Island'

Following Ray Manzarek and Ray Davies into the woozy headrush of the House Of Mirrors and meeting Boris Karloff by the Coconut Shy, The Coral send their latest broadcast from the shores of their own Coral Island with the release of Vacancy. Ahead of the release of their TENTH studio album on Fri 30 April 2021, the thrilling otherworld of the incomparable Merseyside five-piece welcomes guests to sample it’s myriad, melodic delights.

A crackling soundtrack for breezy nights by the sea, as the girls circle the boys in the glow of the North Pier amusements, Vacancy drifts effortlessly on Coral Island’s warm, salty air. A feature of the double album’s A-side, where the excited screams of summer holidays in full swing are heard across the island, keyboard player, Nick Power’s incisive organ riff carves a determined course through the band’s undulating swell of carefree melody.

James Skelly says: “We boarded a ghost train with T. S. Eliot, The Kinks and Karloff and we came out the other side with this baroque’n’roll organ riff ringing in our ears.“

Listen to ‘Vacancy’ – BELOW:

Dousing the rule book in lighter fuel to make sure it burns, The Coral’s decision to make a vividly themed, double album in the modern, streaming age has it’s roots in long-held White Album ambitions, caravan holidays facing the cold Irish Sea and the macabre jukebox hits of a time before rock and roll. The inclusion of James and Ian Skelly’s 85-year-old grandad in the role of ‘The Great Muriarty’, the record’s narrator, has only added to the band’s reputation for finding the road less travelled and driving on the pavement.

The release of Vacancy follows the singles, Faceless Angel and Lover Undiscovered in mapping a route around Coral Island, a place of black and white photograph memories that might never have been. Remaining under wraps for now, Side-B of the album leaves the thrills of summer behind to face the doldrums of winter, where every room is for rent and the nights are as empty as the days.

An accompanying book will be released at the same time as Coral Island, written by Nick Power, with 20 new illustrations by drummer and frequent designer of the band’s album artwork, Ian Skelly. Over Coral Island, a 188-page companion piece to the music promises an energetically told, truthfully fictional account of places and people familiar to both the author and anyone who has felt the uneasy thrill of finding fun in Britain’s coastal towns.

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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