Magic & Medicine
Released just a year after their first album, this compact, bewitching second record sees The Coral trade some of the manic invention of their debut for something a touch less hyperactive. Not that the Merseysiders have completely mislaid their ragbag of sonic ideas. *Magic & Medicine** features everything from Spaghetti Western flute (“Don’t Think You’re The First”) to Bond theme bombast (“Secret Kiss”) and —in “Pass It On”—possibly the world’s only successful attempt to turn the theme of existential impermanence into two minutes of breezy pop perfection.*
Mixing equal bits Merseybeat melody, ragged Nuggets energy, and pure rock nostalgia, the Coral create one of the 21st century's finest odes to 1960s and 1970s garage rock.