The Coral

No my genre

An eclectic mix of psych laced indie rock. Pretty good time and some fun performances.

I'm not down with this at all. A lot of indie from this era was just terrible, floppy haired, happy-go-lucky music with no oomph to it. And of course, this is no exception. Maybe they're a bit more varied than some of their contemporaries in what they're doing musically, but it still has no bite to it at all.

It’sssssssssssss fine.

Not particularly original,but we'll done. Surprisingly I'd missed this band until now.

It has moments but not enough of them to make a good album. Also, the singer's voice is annoying. Meh.

Albumi #68, 04.10.2024 The Coralin debyyttialbumi vuodelta 2002.

A real mixture of rock influences on this, but overall a bit messy and unmemorable.

Horrible

Just a little all over the place. Its not bad, I just couldn't really get into it. It has some Sublime and Shack and The Specials vibes and I can see some merit to the movability of the music. But I don't think I ever need to listen to another Coral album again.

Too weird, didn't enjoy

Never heard of this band/album before today, and IMO this record does a successful job at being weird and experimental, but not overly so to the point where it strays into the territory of being annoying. It's pretty out there, yes, but there is a tasty flow running underneath it all.

Huh, weird band and weird to have not heard of them. This was about the time I was latching on to the yeah yeah yeahs and rilo Kiley, so I'm surprised these guys didn't make my feed but maybe those algorithms weren't very robust yet? Maybe I listened to too much Eminem then? And were those lyrics about pirates I heard?

svårröstat idag. vissa låtar är kanon. jag gillar spanish main, shadows fall och simon diamond. och såklart dreaming of you. skeleton key och bad man är ganska coola men resten är låtar som man lätt glömmer bort. ett plus också för längden på albumet men det är något med soundet/rösten som inte tilltalar mig och jag kan itne säga vad det är. en stark trea

I know this list has a strong UK bias but how is this on the list!

Listened to it this morning and can recall that it rocked but . . . that's it.

I barely listened to it but the vibes were good

3/5 It's ok. Not groundbreaking, but far from terrible. Spanish Main 2/5 I Remember When 3/5 Shadows Fall 4/5 Dreaming of You 3/5 Simon Diamond 3.5/5 Goodbye 3.5/5 Waiting for the Heartaches 3/5 Skeleton Key 2.5/5 Wildfire 4.5/5 (FAV) Bad Man 2.5/5 Calendars and Clocks 2/5 (LEAST FAV)

Reminds me of Captain Beefheart with these stompy eccentric ditties. Bounces around a number of styles in a short period, which feels like a perfunctory tour, but also creates a wacky kaleidoscope that I kind of dig. Definitely grew on me with each listen, and I always enjoy a good sleeper.

surprisingly solid

Rock with vocal harmonies and organ and some reggae rhythm. I Remember When Dreaming of You Wildfire

A real mixed bag of genres, sounds like they are having fun but really lacks consistency. 2.5*

I mean, I have a soft spot for this type of alternative rock. Still, it’s very cliche without much substance.

The first time an album caught me by surprise with a so g I know but didn't know it was from this artist. There are some good tunes on here, but nothing groundbreaking. There is a lot worse rock on this list so I'll give it a pass.

i liked this album - it was a little odd, but still pretty catchy.

Nice light wait rocky.

British indie 60s psychadelia throwback. It's fine but unremarkable

Short, not very memorable. Nice guitar parts and rythms but they blended into a relatively monotonous musical landscape. Favorite songs were: 2. I Remember When 4. Dreaming of You 5/10

Yet another newer record that sounds old. I get that the people who compiled this list miss being young and discovering artists, but if it sounds like the 70's it's not automatically the best thing ever.

Unfortunately, this album is not that and the rest of it is more of a psychedelic folk rock album. Still, the highlights of this album more than make up for the lowlights and it's well worth checking out for anybody who wants to hear some stuff they've never heard before

JFC. More generic folk psychedlica.

Bloody loved it

This was an interesting jangle pop group out of England that is worth investigating.

Aina mukava löytää kohtuullisen tuoreita uusia tuttavuuksia, joita on mukava kuunnella. Ei ehkä nouse jatkuvaan soittoon, mutta oikein mukavaa vaihtelua soundin puolesta. Viihdyttävä.

Kompakti, viihdyttävä, laulussa tunnetta ja hyvät soitot. Piti kuunnella useempi kerta

I can get behind the folksy, neo-psychedelia vibe this album delivers. The Coral mixes catchy melodies with a retro feel that somehow still sounds fresh. There’s a lot of variety here, from jangly guitars to swirling, trippy moments, and it all works together better than you’d expect. It’s fun, a little weird, and surprisingly easy to listen to from start to finish. If you like classic pop hooks with a touch of strangeness, this is definitely worth checking out.

Not terrible, but not my thing. Sort get the impression that, if BBT's Footprints on the Moon formed a semi serious ska band, this would be it.

It makes me mad thinking about all the actually good music this album took the spot of.

What was commonplace forty-fifty years ago has become the rarest of musical acts; a band - as opposed to an individual and a computer holed up in a bedroom - with the ability to write melodic hooks actually exploring the sonic boundaries of 20th century rock/pop.

Allt í lagi folkrokk. Má alveg hlusta aftur á þetta.

Instrumentally sounds really quite good, but the lyrics and songwriting I didn't love as much 🤷

No info in the wiki here but a quick mention on apple reveals yet another British band. And, to be fair, another instance of some not bad British music. It’s one thing when it’s the same stuff over and over but this felt fresh while also being distinctly British. I felt that most highlighted on Waiting for the Heartaches.

Quirky Tom Waits type music but with a more modern rock band. Sometimes tolerable, often annoying. No thank you. Favorite tracks: Dreaming of You, Waiting for the Heartaches. Album art: A collage of a ton of pictures, colorful but I don't know what I'm supposed to make of it. Are these band photos? No idea. 2/5

Not a bad album at all but it's a weak debut album. Favourite Songs: I Remember When, Dreaming of You, Waiting for the Heartaches. Least Favourite Songs: Simon Diamond, Goodbye.

Good band bit like the Las but not as good.

Can’t decide if it wants to be a landfill indie record or a quirky pirate concept album - I mean this as both an insult and a compliment. Dreaming of You still slaps

Un álbum poco destacable en muchos sentidos. La composición es poco inspirada y reiterativa. Se escucha como si Kings of Leon y Blur vivieran juntos en un barco donde solamente existen "sea shanties" que en realidad no dicen nada. El favoritismo de esta lista a artistas "under" británicos es realmente molestoso. Lo he dicho en críticas anteriores, pero encuentro realmente un delito que el debut de un acto que no impacto absolutamente a nadie y a nada esté por sobre trabajos como "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" de Modest Mouse, un trabajo relativamente similar pero mucho más importante para el desarrollo de la música alternativa, llegando a impactar incluso en los tabloides musicales internacionales. Habiendo dicho esto, no creo que The Coral sea un mal disco debut, pero definitivamente no es un "álbum que tienes que escuchar antes de morir". Esto no va a cambiar la vida de absolutamente nadie.

Proof that the Mersey music phenomenon is often one of quantity rather than quality

starting to dread hitting my submit button and seeing the random ass band I definitely do not need to hear before I die

This sounds as if The Doors were a 2000s garage rock revival band. Surprisingly, that works really well. I especially liked the layered oddball melodies. It did not make the jump from the UK to America, so it was all brand new to me. It’s interesting that this Oasis-adjacent Brit album would be released the Monday after Oasis announced a reunion tour. The algorithm has a hold of me!

This album was fun! Nothing genre breaking in early ‘00’s rock, but a fun album. 4/5!

This probably merits another listen, but the first listen didn’t really hook me.

The corals self titled album is great with a mix of barber shop quartets and rocky pink Floyd esc music was very good. gonna give it a 8/10

The sound is fine but the songs are not so interesting.

They sound like a talented band, but despite their best efforts to create an entertainingly eclectic album, I found myself bored throughout.

Lots of styles are mixed here, and somehow rhe result is still coherent. It was an etertaining listening experience.

Wow more garbage

Fun and eclectic listen. Liked Waiting for the Heartaches to Come. Also liked the ties and references to the sea that kept recurring.

I don't care for pirate music and sea shanties, but then also having that mixed with rock, ska, reggae?? It quickly turned annoying at some points, but then it also had some good moments so I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. Favorites: "I Remember When", "Dreaming of You", "Waiting for the Heartaches"

Eh to me this isn't as bad as some others are claiming, however it isn't something that I would want to listen to regularly. Meh overall.

Groovy Julian. No thanks. Psychedelic album number 205 on the list. Another sneaky chance to put in one from 1968/69 even if it was recorded in 2002.

It wasn't bad by any means, but to think this was an album I needed to hear before I die is a joke. Not every rock revival band from the early 00s must be exalted from on high.

Brit, psych rock that is unoffending to the ears.

Liked it a lot. Adventurous and whimsical, I liked how the songs followed themes. Really good for baking.

wank

Not really a fan. It's not terrible but kind of annoying to me.

Such a forgettable album.

NIce one

Es como un poco country - rock. Está bien.

Did not enjoy

Ok. Not hating it. Or loving it two stars

The vocals in the first song made me think this might be a Steven Tyler side project that I'd never heard of. Turns out that was not the case. This is the very definition of average.

It's fine. It's vaguely promising - and apparently they have now created some weirdo masterpieces that match up to the promise of this album. But this album never grabbed me enough to get me to invest in future efforts. It has good bits.

great album, their top

A pleasant surprise from a band u had never heard of. Super listenable, if not exactly the most innovative. But they do have their own definitive that I enjoy. Nice, pleaseing, generic rock that doesn't suck.

This is #day7 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... what the fuck did I just listen to? Starting with song #3, I couldn't wait for this to end. Can anybody explain to me the significance of this album being featured on the list? That was rather annoying. The first entry on the list that I'm generously giving a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day8.

Hell yeah

indie dreaming of you

This is the first band on this list I haven't heard of before AND ALSO liked the album. This is exactly what I was hoping this list would be like, and have thus far been quite disappointed. This was fucking FUN! I really don't think it belongs on a list of albums you must hear before you die, but I don't want to diminish how much I enjoyed this album. I appreciate the eclectic mix of styles and am reminded of how I felt listening to bands like Panic! at the Disco, Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly , and My Chemical Romance for the first time. They're all doing something somewhat new with well-founded historical precedent in a way that blends nicely and makes me want to find the music that inspired this. 3.5

not disappointed, not impressed

Alright... Dreaming of you is a great song tho.

sin pena ni gloria

inoffensivo al punto giusto, niente di eclatante, ma veramente non è niente di speciale. ogni tanto mi chiedo perchè certi album siano inseriti in questa lista, ma va bene così, non voglio prendermela con i poveri Coral che non hanno fatto del male a nessuno.

Mi fido della valutazione che diede la me del passato qualche mese fa, quindi 3/5 sia.

pretty catchy and pretty short

I had a good time, but I do not think it belongs on the list.

Awesome Ez 4.5

Good stuff

3.3. Great first half. Jim Morrison/Alex Turner sound from lead singer

I Remember When // Dreaming of You //

Never heard of these guys. Will check them out. This is cool. Truly never heard of this before. Very interesting. Reminds me of gypsy-band.

Fun

Okay. Yeah. This was fine.

This doesn't feel at all like 2002. More like the 1970s

This was a very pleasant surprise. From the first few seconds I though "yeah this is gonna be good" and it stayed just as good the whole time. The standout was Dreaming of You, which sounds like motown cover and I love it. I'd give this an 8 or 9 out of 10. It's close to a 5 star, but I don't even know what my criteria for a 5 star are anymore. Is that only for 10/10s? Is a 10/10 even attainable? Album cover: A. I like looking at it.

This album rocked. I'd never heard of it but had fun the entire time. It's not too long, great guitar, awesome vocals. It rocks pretty hard throughout. At times the album really reminds me of My Chemical Romance? That might be a weird association, but they were around in similar times. I'm in the process of catching up to a few missed albums so I only listened once. Good stuff. 8/10

I think this would be great background music, but I don't think I could really get into it hardcore.

Not my thing.

This is quite literally the most basic music I've ever heard. Do these people know that they have to put some thought into writing a song? This is a bad, bad album.

Nothing new here. It's just another one of those albums that you listen to and think 'okay, this is kinda cool.' But then you never ever think about it again after that one listen.

Aldrig hört förut men det här var en positiv överraskning. Plattan är ju jättebra.

The only reason I can think of that this album would be included on this list would be for some british publisher to try and be more "inclusive" and have some white british artists that were less popular than the other white british artists that this white british list already has on it in a very white british way. 1/5

What an interesting album, I feel like my inevitable 3 star rating is going to obscure how strange this one is. This is the 2002 debut album from a British rock band. This came out in the post-Britpop alt rock age. At times it sounds fairly modern, but more often it really sounds like a '60s British psychedelic rock album. Like I'm getting real The Zombies energy from this (but with a bit more of a gruff sounding singer). The sound is weird and wavering and jumps around quite a bit, even within songs. I don't know enough about music to know why, but a lot of the guitar riffs sound old (for instance on "Goodbye"). I actually wanted to like this a bit more than I did, but it falls a little flat for me. The weirdness is cool, but there's just not a ton that stands out to really hook me. The exception is probably "Dreaming of You" (which seems to be their most popular song by quite a bit), which is strange and catchy all in one. Otherwise there's quite a few enjoyable songs, but I just doubt this will stick with me much. It also loses a bit of steam near the end, even though it's a pretty short album. I respect them going for a very different sound than what was prevailing at the time though, and one that calls back to a prior age of great music. Also, the album cover is just as strange as the music, there's a lot going on there that I won't try to parse out. Favorite song: Dreaming of You Other: I Remember When, Simon Diamond, Goodbye, Waiting for the Heartaches, Wildfire, Calendars and Clocks 7/25/24

4.0

Yeah not massively my thing! Just quite jaunty Brit pop innit. Totally fine

That surprised me! I was ready for some proper indie landfill but it was pretty good. I thought the lead singer sounded like the guy from the Zutons, and actually thought they generally had similarities, looked them up and they are also from the Liverpool area.

Not really innovative, somewhat good to vibe with. The definition of mid.

Charming but unnecessary for this list. Not really much to say about it. Standard rock sound and ingredients. Most interesting things about this album is probably the cover art.

Was familiar with two songs. I could have sworn this band was a 70's 80's band. Good songs nice atmosphere. Did well in this house

This album has the heart of the 60s and transports elements of early rock and psych into the unfitting year of 2002. I was suprised by this one. While no songs particularly stood out to me, the sound that they created on this record is a great time piece of the 60s with better production.

Songs a bit hit or miss for me, but overall okay

I was working on a project outside and I actually let this play through just into a 3rd turn. It grew on me a little, I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Really liked track 2 and track 1 while a little repetitive was ok too. 2.75/5

An album chalked full of contradictions. Late 60s psychedelia meets ska meets folk rock meets klezmer meets sea shanties. They sure do love their sea themes, but man…this coral should’ve remained at sea.

Huh? Who? Is this the author’s cousin’s band or something?

110% Hipster Approved and maybe you’re just not cool enough to get this. Certainly an interesting listen and I liked the creativity, quirkiness and mix of styles. And a pirate song with skeleton key? Sure. Not sure I’ll find the need to come back to this but ya never know. 2.75

Not terrible, not great. A couple jams that were ok. Felt like they were trying VERY hard to be unique. 2.25/5

The Coral opens very strong and slowly fades. By I Remember When I was thinking could this be another surprise 5 star album. At its best, it’s very good. But the lows are low. I.e Bad Man. 6.4/10

Incredible lead single in Dreaming of You. They lost it after that though

If Smashmouth and Mother’s of Invention had a love child, it would this album! It was a reflection of the post-grunge-indie revolution made famous by Napster. Personally, not my thing but not unlistenable, just weird and jam-band on ‘shrooms. Key songs Skeleton and Spanish Man

Never heard of The Coral. Maybe this has too much throwback to styles of 60s rock to truly breakthrough in the 2000s. This is an interesting listen. I’m listening to it again and already appreciating this album more upon second listening.

No nice genre box Shapeshifting music wizards Casting rock weirdness

Listened before? N A good album from a band that I didn’t remember hearing until I heard the final track. The style is all over the place (in a good way) and they seem to be talented musicians. It wasn’t long enough to get old, and a few of the songs were downright catchy. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Dreaming of You

2.5

2.5

Good, not a bad song in there

Why this album of all the “guitar revival” albums…

I remember The Coral knocking about the NME scene of the early 2000s, but never listened to a full album. Better than expected.

A fun album with Standouts in I Remember When, Simon Diamond, and Waiting For The Heartache.

I like the musicianship. I like the bravery of trying many genres on one album. It's called folk rock, but I didn't sense any of that. I heard rock, pop, reggae, ska, and psychedelic. Unfortunately none of the songs stuck with me after listening to album.

I see a lot of people hating on this but it isn’t terrible. I mean it certainly isn’t MY cup of tea but it’s not bad by any means. The idea of mixing the styles of 60’s rock and sea shanties is something I haven’t seen before. It knows what it wants to do and does it.

This is pretty good! Giving it a 5 because it's a pleasant surprise.

Of all the 2002 rock albums to put on the list, this one was picked? Instead of Turn on the Bright Lights??? Ridiculous… Gonna go make my own list, with blackjack and hookers

strong start, weak finish

Good not great. Started off rough (read: dad rock)

🙂‍↔️👎

#30 - Decent early Brit rock with quite original layers

In terms of originality, they really went for it and achieved it. In terms of listenability, it fails. But they are strong musicians and vocalists.

Things I know about The Coral: 1) Bri’ish 2) they’re named after coral Things I learned today: 1) During a weekend of 1st time listens for both the Smiths' self-titled debut & Meat is Murder, The Coral might be my favourite jangly rock out of the three of them! 2) Music critics really like white reggae, especially in the vein of Madness/The Specials. However, the tracks here are fun & few enough in number ("Skeleton Key", the hidden track "Time Travel") so the comparison luckily does not define the album as a whole. 3) Well it's something I kinda knew already, but I really like a lot of "neo-psychedelic" bands that carry 60's pop sounds into the 21st century. The Coral is no exception HL: "Shadows Fall", "Dreaming of You", "Simon Diamond", "Skeleton Key", "Calendars and Clocks" June 16, 2024

Wow! Forgot how good this album is! The opening four tracks are as good as it gets, with the sublime ‘Dreaming Of You’ being the standout. A great jangly, poppy, psychy rock and roll record!

Thought the opening couple songs were OK. This was a step up from the most recent 5-6 album stretch, but really, there was nothing here that stood out and make me think I'm really happy to have listened. Nothing adverse to the ears, but really just one big shoulder shrug and mediocre listening experience. Going the 2.5. Not rounding up. 2.5

2 This is probably the least British-sounding British band I’ve ever heard. Despite that, I was kind of hoping to hear some Britpop, but I’m not exactly sure what the hell this was - or who exactly it’s for. Wikipedia says it’s a mix of neo-psychedelia and folk rock, but I feel like I listened to a series of shanties where the band tried to push themselves to see how un-catchy they could make the melodies. There are also supposed parallels people have drawn with this dude’s vocals and Jim Morrison’s, but I really didn’t hear that - instead I feel like I was getting more of an Eddie Vedder thing with maybe a Steven Tyler attempt on the high notes. At the very least, there’s some kind of weird attempt at Aerosmith I was picking up on, but it lacked any of the edge of the band - and I say that as someone who can’t stand Aerosmith, so you can imagine what it was doing for me here. Far from the worst thing I’ve heard, but I didn’t find anything here to be particularly enjoyable. I have no idea what would draw people to this band or 159 million people to Dreaming of You specifically, but they’re clearly hearing something I’m missing.

meh

3.7/5 listened 3x. cool album, never heard it before

Catchy, fun, upbeat songs. In addition to sounding like a lot of British bands from this time, there’s a mix of other influences — some Spanish guitar here, a little polka bounce there. That sort of thing can feel like musical cosplaying to me and I don’t always love it. But this was enjoyable more often than not.

Wow I love the spanky guitar tone on the first track. Without trying to come across as immediately self-centered, this is exactly the kind of guitar tone that I often strive for and incorporate in my own music. Great "grab the listener" effect. Wow COOOL sounding vocals in this first track too. I am impressed! I really enjoyed this album. I listened to it while meal prepping about a dozen burritos to eat over the next week or two, and it was an amazing record to put on while doing so. The thing that stood out most to me is that they had this intentional meander that would happen in some songs- where they would take a turn down a random road into a different musical area and then just hung out there for a bit. It felt to me like a real band were writing these songs and in a beautiful way detached from current trends in pop/rock songwriting, where everything has to be a platform for the vocals. Even though this band came out earlier, it reminded me of Fleet Foxes, as they tend to also have these shifts in their songs where they change tempos and keys and play around with structure just for the sake of doing it. I was also surprised at how often they went into this 1960s (? I think?) sound, like on "Waiting for the Heartaches". It sounded like a more modern Beatles track.

I think the first half of this album is much better than the second. Pretty good tho but nothing really exceptional.

found myself pretty unbothered by this

An album so good that even the Wikipedia summary on top of this page is speechless. Weird pirate Psychedelic Rock if it was sung by the Imagine Dragons guy. Goes from "kinda cool" to "annoying as fuck" in a record time of roughly three songs.

It's interesting to me that this album gets labelled as folk rock, since it feels so much different than other folk music to me. It does, however, sound like songs that you would sing on a ship from time to time, so maybe that makes it folk. Really cool album overall with good production. 4/5

It's all right. 'Dreaming of You' is a really fantastic song, far and away the highlight of the album. That's not to say the other songs are bad, they're just not great. They're fine. FAVORITE SONGS - Dreaming of You - I Remember When 3/5

decent record. enjoying.

What a truly awful album. 1 star for the interesting collage on the cover. Shit

This was ok - I might gone back to it, I might not? Some interesting bits, but nothing really wowed me

ok, nothing special

3 stars of confusion

Where do I start. OK. The Coral are from The Wirral, where I live. As kismet has it on the day I go t this album I actually went for a little walk along the Prom in their home town of Hoylake. It's a town by the sea. Not a seaside town. Most of The Wirral is like that. An urban area (nearly) surrounded by estuaries. It's probably me reading too much into it, but The Coral's music feels like home. Salt soaked, melancholic, a bit weird, borrowing lots of ideas from elsewhere, but very much it's own thing.

Enjoyed the listening

This album was weirdly fun. They sound like a dance-y folk band in spooky animated movie in the best way. I enjoyed how consistent that sound and vibe were through the album.

New Orleans sound, reminiscent of Kings of Leon

A good album, I liked Spanish Main and Dreaming of you.

why - why is this on the list? I'd give it no stars if I could.

Good album. I liked his voice. I'm not sure I was really into a few of the songs. Maybe I'll try listening again

This was a fun and funky album. Every song felt like it was in a completely different style/genre (beach, reggae, polka, ska, rock?!!), but the overarching album still worked because the singer's voice remained constant, and many of the songs had a sort of funk, sinister New Orleans vibe.

Very fun album. Really enjoyed it.

Really liked this. Never heard of them before.

Really enjoyed it

Shadows Fall Dreaming of You Goodbye

En 2002 el homónimo disco de debut de los británicos The Coral creó una gran expectación. Ya desde el arranque del álbum, "Spanish Main", los sonidos psicodélicos brit-pop se mezclan con aires folkies en lo que será una constante de todas sus canciones (en este caso con ambientes marinos dada la procedencia costera del grupo). Lo mismo ocurre con "Shadows Fall", uno de los temas más exitosos del álbum, en el que además encontramos pop-ska, folk cosaco e incluso una sutil armónica que rememora las bandas sonoras del gran Morricone. Pero la fusión estilística no se queda ahí y por todo el disco resuenan otros géneros como el Merseybeat de 1964, el ska con vientos o el acid rock. Personalmente me gustan más los temas "Dreaming of You" y la psicodelia con aromas de un pasado Pink Floyd sesentero de "Simon Diamond".

Light bouncy indie psychedelic tunes. Fun and fine.

Full and derivative. At its best, it sounded like the record Tom Waits would make if he lost his distinctive voice, sense of humor, lyrical wit, and association with Mark Ribot. 1001 other albums are lined up in limbo waiting to take the place of this one. Nn

a lot of these albums grow on you the more you listen This one had the opposite effect. If i had listened once i would have said, fairly fine, unremarkable, but fine, 3 but by the third listen i just find it incredibly annoying. I don't like it, its not bad, just annoying. I think the known single is a song that i'd rather never ever hear again Dull, insipid, boring, low 2

Another British band I've never heard of. Entertaining for the most part. An extra star for Simon Diamond because I have a Chug dog named Simon. He's been a best friend for a long time. He loves bed.

Fine, nothing crazy

I used to really like the Coral and this is a decent album. I prefer the invisible invasion. This is probably a 3.5.

teetering on 3 and 4 but i think i’ll leave it with a high 3. grew on me as the album went on

Loved this album in 2002, it's not aged very well though

Psychedelic sea shanties. Because...well, no-one knows.

Fun

I like this album, but there isn’t anything here that couldn’t have been done forty years prior. The Coral is an album the longs for a past that has long since matured. There isn’t anything wrong with any of the songs. Lyrics, instrumentation, and writing are all good. I’ll give it an extra bump in quality for the vocal performance. James Skelly has a unique voice that makes this album tolerable. 3/5

Solid psych rock that I need to listen to a few more times. Love the vibe though.

Dreaming of you song

Kind of exhausting.

Delightful album by a bunch of teenagers who take you on a grand tour of music and style history. As many ideas in music as the cover shows it will be.

I was kind of digging the vibe despite this being a strange like... gypsy pirate sound. I recognize Dreaming of You from some movies or shows or something. I kind of enjoyed listening to this just since the sound was a bit different from what we've gotten from the list recently, but I don't know if this is especially noteworthy in any direction. Nice it wasn't too long. Second half of it probably could've been mostly cut.

The build to start the album is pretty cool. High energy. And it drops off. This didn't need to be here. If I was out on a boat today this might have hit better.

Sort of a reverse Elvis Costello here (since this list has loved giving me Elvis Costello albums lately). Whereas Elvis Costello was very much ahead of his time, this is a throwback to a lot of sounds from the 70s. It's very much in the psychedelic rock world, but it also pulls in some really lovely folksy sounds as well as some strong indy rock influences. This is an absolutely lovely album. I'm not sure why Dreaming of You is the only real "hit" from this album, but it deserves far more love.

Something different. Much better than I remembered.

I used to really like this and enjoyed rediscovering it. They were doing their own thing and kind of got lumped in with the other indie bands of the time. Dreaming of You is such a great tune

It started out ok, but quickly nosedived.

It was fun at first but got boring rather quickly. Liked the first two songs, Skeleton Key and Waiting for the Heartaches

I dont get it

The Coral is an interesting work. It's like having a Britpop band working with a salsa guy behind closed doors, giving them some mild ayahuasca, and seeing what comes out of it. Some songs were interesting, but others... mmm maybe they ran out of ideas before knowing how to finish it. Bottomline, I think it was a positive experience.

I've tried to get into these before, a very trusted friend was into them when it came out which surprised me, because I couldn't see what set them apart from much of the indie guitar stuff of the early 00s. And to top it all I couldn't shake the feeling I'd heard it all before (to much) from Ocean Colour Scene a few years earlier. A few friends I have a regular music chat vid call with were also lauding then again recently so I gave it a spin a few months back too. My opinion on this listen remains mostly unchanged. I guess this is just a blind spot for me. Shadows Fall was mildly diverting. As was Simon Diamond. Goodbye is a strong 60s Byrds jangle along. I am at least understanding why my friend was so keen, and they're better than OCS. The big single was everywhere of course, and it's fine. I like a lot of Bill Ryder-Jones work now though. A very mid 3, I guess? I don't dislike any of this, I just wouldn't choose to put it on. Definitely the most piratey record since Adam Ant, and for that a fun listen.

Interesting listen. I hear a lot of The Jam in this record mixed with some 60s rock and roll... I could definitely see this rippin' in a dive bar. They've got a good feel, guitar tone is great (reminds me of Nancy Sinantra's Bang Bang - that type of guitar tone), vocals are alright. Nothing great, but as I mentioned, would sound great in a high energy bar show. 👍 COOL!

I believe the Coral to be one of the better bands from the 00’s, and pretty underrated, this is a good indie rock album and deserves its place on the list, has its flaws though and not one I really come back to.

Some simple rock with country influences. So vanilla that I'm questioning it being part of the 1001. Must have been running out of ideas.

Interesting little thing, a bit like Cat Empire meets Liverpool folk pop

If you were a tumblr addict who wore lensless glasses, V-necks and scarfs in the summer of 2013, I cannot recommend this enough.

'Chris Long for BBC Manchester Music saw it as an "interesting debut. [... D]espite it's derivations and blatant robbing", the album was "original, challenging and above all, fun". AllMusic reviewer Bryan Thomas wrote that the "fantastic voyage that is The Coral [...] is the real discovery", citing an amalgamation of various influences, often within a single song. Pitchfork contributor Chris Dahlen wrote that the band "seems more curious than inventive", tackling various ideas "but don't always have an original hook or clear idea to attach them to". John Mendelsohn of Blender said that very "[l]ittle else here [...] is quite as glorious" as "Dreaming of You". He added that there was "enough moments to suggest that, should they ever concentrate on, say, just 10 of their favorite styles, they could be fab" ' OK. I guess The Coral was a somewhat noticeable act in that early-noughts retro-rock-revival scene that also saw the likes of The Strokes and The White Stripes emerge. And yet today, this album feels more like an example of the impact of passing fads and trends than a truly timeless record. The art of truly "essential" albums should try to be a little tighter, more cohesive, and more convincing than that. In other words, you need more memorable tunes... To write this review, I used the same template as the one I used for the first Joan Baez LP and The Notorious B.I.G.'s *Ready To Die*, by the way. Make of that what you will. 🙃 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential records. 7/10 for more general purposes. (5+2) Number of albums left to review: less than 200, approximately - I've temporarily lost count here. Number of albums I'll include in my own list: half so far, approximately. Number of albums I *might* include: a quarter, approximately Number of albums I'll never include: another quarter, or just a little more (including this one, many other albums are more important to me)

Never heard of The Coral. They have a modern psychedelic vibe to them. Well recorded, talented, just polished enough. I like these guys.

It started off with a high note and I thought "oh this is something interesting" but kinda limps along after that. Again another album where I damn it with faint praise. It's completely normal and nothing special.

Pleasantly surprised by this, it hit right today

Interesting mix of psychedelic and folk. Love the harmonies as well.

Another one where I didn’t hear anything essential. Not very excellent pop music.

6.5/10 Liked this, but a strange one. No way it is in the top 1000 albums, but it is so different to other stuff that I can see why it is in 1000 albums to listen to Tonight they were indie rock. Anything but: rock, folk, gypsy, blues amongst others At its best when they are giving it 100% in vocals and throwing all the instruments at it Best: Dreaming of you

always liked this band

They incorporate a lot of stylistic influences, and while different, it isn't necessarily unique or great as a whole, despite the creativity and approach. Feels like the kind of band who's music would be interesting in the background of a comedy show but not enough to make you look it up later.

The definition of a 5/10

Not rocking my world, first song reminded me why I didn’t and still don’t like them. Good at what they do but just not for me

Stop listening

Not as good as I remember. The 2nd star is purely for Dreaming of You which is still a brilliant song.

Sea shanties, reggae, indie rock, ska all blended together to become less than the sum of its parts. Dreaming of you is a standout song in a sea of try hard blandness - I can only think when they drew the list up and needed to include 2002 there was very little from that year to choose from.

Fun rock album, liked it more than I thought I would.

Thought it was pretty mediocre. I was hoping for another gem like the Zutons album but came up meh for me. Rating: 2.8

listening to this felt like pulling back the curtain on the music they played at the coolest places (aka Urban Outfitters lmao) i would dare visit as a teen in the mid-late aughts who desperately wanted to get \"into\" music but had v strict parents. or like what the disgruntled ex nyc/la bartender/photography blogger/do turned barista/proprietor at the only coffee shop w a powder coated espresso machine and a pourover menu in a college town would play on vinyl during the day to discourage people from taking work phone calls from inside. sounds like Spoon x the Arctic Monkeys + weird 70s psych rock & a touch of piratesque gang vocals. i mean. it was fine but nothing particularly memorable for me.

Cool

Super cool album

A shitty little bit of graverobbing that ultimately sounds like the soundtrack to a sad, haunted funfair.

неожиданный микс жанров, но в среднем не запомнилось. но и не напрягло!

The thing about this album is that some songs are better than a lot of others on this list and some absolutely suck. For example, I enjoyed the second song, but the last song was just annoying. At least I didn’t have to listen to the hidden track that’s not on Spotify (I wouldn’t have anyway).

I liked the neo-60s sound of this.

There is nothing specifically bad about this for me, but it kind of just passed me by. I can kind of appreciate the reflection of 60s rock that I tend to enjoy, but this one just didn't quite hit it for me.

950 albums down and the kids are getting restless. Are we there yet? This is fine, I guess. Not super original but I'm not mad.

This seemed like a good soundtrack for a slightly crazy carnival. I heard songs suitable for an off-kilter carousel, a slightly scary fun house, a spooky dark ride, and sundry spinny rides run by slightly insane clowns. Yet it never went completely off the rails.

Nothing really original here. Moving on.

Good. Very garage rocky.

Meh

It’s okay but very short.

Such a confused album

Good British neo-psychedelia album from the early 2000s, even the album cover reminds me of albums from the late 60s. It was those times in the 2000s when indie rock bands started to emerge after the grunge and nu metal era of the 1990s. This album is quite varied and interesting, though in my opinion, not that special to give it a 4 or higher.

The Coral's self-titled album, "The Coral," is a captivating journey through psychedelic rock and indie pop. Released in 2002, this debut album showcases the band's eclectic style and musical prowess. From the infectious melodies of "Dreaming of You" to the haunting beauty of "Shadows Fall," each track on the album offers something unique and compelling. The band's use of diverse instruments, including trumpets, keyboards, and strings, adds depth and richness to their sound, creating a lush sonic landscape that draws listeners in. While "The Coral" may not have received the same level of mainstream attention as some of their later albums, it remains a standout debut that highlights the band's talent and creativity. With its catchy hooks, inventive arrangements, and distinctive vocals, "The Coral" is a must-listen for fans of indie rock and psychedelic music.

Really cool mix of styles and influences. It's definitely tough to pin down. I enjoy the singer's voice, it definitely feels passionate. The instrumental arrangements are intricate but super tight.

Had no idea what to expect but enjoyed the ride

2 early 2000s UK artists I've never heard of in a row. These guys were pretty fun though. I'll spend more time in their discography. Strong 3.5 rounding up.

This was fine, but nothing great.

If you’ve never heard of it before this challenge then it’s guaranteed to be British. Annnnd yup! British. Now the toss up on if it’ll be iconic, moderately listenable, or absolute tripe. Ding ding ding! We have another hot steaming pile of absolute tripe! Thanks for coming out and wasting my Sunday. It has no cohesive identify that I can latch onto. Who are you trying to be Coral? You can’t be Jim Morrison or Eric Clapton. Those dickheads already exist.

I had heard two songs by The Coral which I liked. Was surprised by the sound here, which was quite different than those tunes. I was also surprised at how bad some of the tunes were on this album. They are playing with some interesting sounds and styles here, but I don’t think they were successful in implanting them into coherent songs.

Even after reading the Wikipedia page for this album I still have no frame of reference for this album so I might be totally missing some context but regardless I thought this was pretty good. It’s one of those 00s rock throwback albums (I think of are you gonna be my girl by jet for some reason) and this one gives 60s/70s rock at least vocally. Shadows fall and calendars and clocks are my favs.

The first album in the project so far I’ve listened to twice before rating. It spoke to me but I wanted to be certain it was deserving of a 4/5, and it is. I’ve never consciously listened to The Coral before; this was basically a new discovery for me. I loved the production, it’s a very well made record. I get vibes of a slightly ska-influenced version of the Stereophonics. Spanish Main is a very enticing opener, how about those harmonies? I Remember When is the standout track for me and I also quite enjoyed Simon Diamond. Good stuff.

This was very interesting, as a Rock album after Radiohead supposedly ended the album era. There's a late 60's folk/psych feel here that is charming and sincere. Lots of musical variety and some intrguing surprises here and there without being overly ambitious, making this an enjoyable listen.The album feels very live - as if I were listening to the band in the pub wherever these dudes are from, everyone is having a great time. Really fun.

Not the worst. Very pirate-y in feel

Neo-psicodelia, folk rock. Está bien. Un 4.

Average background.

If they were my friend's band I would think they were really good!

00’er rock, lidt poppet, et par catchy sange

A short sweet old favourite. It still holds up.

girl why am i trapped in 2002. hello. get me the hell out of here. 1.5.

Brilliant debut

Not offensive, not remarkable.

I absolutely LOVE Dreaming of You and the two or three songs surrounding it are good, but the last half of the album is a real slog to get through. Their hidden track is just awful. It needed to be at least sped up by 2x in order to even be palatable.

how did this make the list

This record is a little hard to pin down. I like it, but I'm still not really sure what to make of it. I've seen it compared to albums by The White Stripes and The Strokes and I don't see that at all. It was just released around the same time. I kind of feel like the album plays a lot like the cover looks - just lots of different stuff all over but it all kind of works together. Still, I'm a little surprised to have found it on this list. I really liked I Remember When, Dreaming of You, Waiting for the Heartaches, and Bad Man. I'd listen to this again for sure, and would probably pick it up and throw it on from time to time if I saw it in the record shop. 3.5/5 but rounding to 3 because it's not really a 4/5.

"The Coral" is the debut album by British rock band the Coral. Neo-pyschdelia and folk rock are the named genres but they actually dig into a lot more. The band had a residency at the Cavern in Liverpool before recording. The album was produced by Lightning Seeds' frontman Ian Broudie and the band themselves. The band is James Skelly (vocals, guitar), Lee Sothall (guitar), Bill Ryder-Jones (guitar, trumpet), Paul Duffy ( bass, sax), Nick Powers (keyboards) and Ian Skelly (drums). Commercially, the album reached #5 in the UK and #189 in the US. It had universal acclaim and was nominated for the 2002 Mercury Prize. Feedback and a guitar in low keys opens "Spanish Man." Rollicking drums. Layered vocals. Alright, this is OK. He's set sail again. "Shadow Fall" starts out like a spaghetti western. It morphs into some sort of reggae. There's a harmonica and that guitar in low keys again. I'm semi-confused now. They start to really mix things up now. The second single "Dreaming of You" is upbeat and I'm reminded of the Jam. Not for long though, as doo-wop backing vocals comes in. There's a country rock-esque guitar solo. The first single "Goodbye" does a nice job of mixing 60's pop with pyschedelia. There's 60's- sounding guitar and lead and backing vocals. A guitar solo leads them into the pyschedelic. Things slow up...wah-wah guitars, tom tom drums and a man counting down backwards. Nice! The album ends on a high note with "Calendars and Clocks." Acoustic and electric guitars. James Skelly doing his best Scott Walker. A Spanish-folk vibe. Don't worry, the pace picks up and slows down. The song ends with Beach Boys' harmonies and more 60's-esque music. The album covers a whole lot styles including traditional Russian music, spaghetti Western, reggae, pyschedelic, Middle Eastern, Frank Zappa, the Teardrops Explodes, blues, folk, country rock and 60's pop. It is a very busy album and straddled the line between brilliance and annoying me...often within the same song. Over time, it kind of won me over. There's more high moments than low. The music and band are challenging falling into a specific genre or category which I admire.

Not a terrible albums, but this isn't the 1,001 Not Terrible albums you must listen to. No amount of rationalization outside of "UK Pop" could justify this album's place on this list. 2/5

Instrumentally interesting, but runs its one-trick shanty sound into the ground well before its short runtime concludes. The vocals are challenging from the get-go and only get worse as the LP goes on, and the situation isn't helped by some truly brain-dead, repetitive lyricism. An interesting idea and sound overall, but the execution could have been way better.

The Coral - The Coral 2002 album from some blokes in the UK. Mix of 60s garage sounds, rockabilly, and an impression of the Doors. I had never heard of this band or the album. They have an interesting sound and I would probably listen to them again. 3/5

meh

That was unexpectedly enjoyable! Not entirely enjoyable but enjoyable to an unexpected level. I might have to give that one another listen-through at some point.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like if a 2000s garage band made 60s rock well here’s your chance! This is exactly what they’re making and they’re doing so in several different ways. Sometimes heavy and grungy, sometimes undeniably catchy.

This blew me away. Instant favorite

Like a modern folk album, liked it 3.7

Love the Coral mostly - some amazing tracks drawing lineage back to the best of British pop. This album is really quite patchy though

B Spanish Main 3 I Remember When 4 Shadows Fall 3 Dreaming Of You 5 Simon Diamond 4 Goodbye 3 Waiting For The Heartaches 4 Skeleton Key 3 Wildfire 3 Badman 3 Calendars And Clocks 3 Time Travel 4 This was Fun.

Nice sounds

Actually quite enjoyed this fun style, rockish but not too serious.

I don't know that if I wasn't already aware, that I could have identified the decade this was made in, which is kind of cool.

pub life

Dit album klinkt een beetje alsof het ook twintig jaar eerder gemaakt had kunnen worden. Het is allemaal wel aardig gedaan, maar het heeft een hoog ene-oor-in-andere-oor-uit-gehalte. Hoger dan een 3 reikt dit niet.

Hé wat een geinig album. Een verzameling speelse vrolijkmakende rock. En dat met een wat rauwe zangstem. Er zijn toch maar weinig bands die met een variatie op het thema van It's a Small World iets leuks kunnen maken, zonder dat het kinderachtig wordt (Goodbye). De hit is volgens mij Dreaming of You. Maar daar moet dit album het helemaal niet van hebben. Het is een mooi totaalproduct. Het lijkt soms weinig pretentie uit te stralen, maar zit stiekem toch leuk in elkaar. Een ontdekking.

The Coral, het komt me ergens wel bekend voor, dus misschien dat ik wel een nummer herken straks. Ik dacht dat ze misschien op Lowlands hebben gestaan in de 00s? Maar ze hebben niet eens NL wiki, dus ze zijn sowieso niet echt bekend geworden hier. De muziek doet me ergens denken aan Arctic Monkeys. Op andere momenten is het juist weer een Mexicaanse feestband, met vrolijke toeters en trommels. De gitaar galmt soms als surfmuziek, of ska. En ah, daar is het nummer dat ik ken: Dreaming of You. Dat is een klein hitje geweest wel. In de 00s had je op Lowlands ook zo'n invasie van nieuwe Britse bandjes, met zoals gezegd de Arctic Monkeys, maar ook the Kooks (hitje: Naive) en the Zutons (hitje: Valerie, later bekend geworden door Amy Winehouse). Dit valt eigenlijk prima in die Britse invasie. Het is wel grappig en het voert me terug naar die tijd. Ik vind het wel vrolijk en lollig. Het is een beetje maf af en toe, maar het is leuk om te luisteren, het stoort me niet.

Oof. Dated AF. Somewhat 'wacky' wordplay is a blight nowadays

Okish tribute to 60s British rock. What gets me is how insanely good Dreaming of You is compared to the rest of the album. One hit wonder almost. If I'd written a song like that I'd have harnassed all my energy to achieving 10 other songs like it, but it feels like they only got anywhere near close once or twice.

Almost every song reminds me of the theme song from Insomniac with Dave Attell. Kick the sandman in his sack, stay up late Insomniac!

4/5 Great listen

All songs enjoyable

This album is messy, chaotic, and forgettable. The vocals are really not great and there is next to no coherence between songs. It definitely isn't unlistenable, but I really did not enjoy this.

3.5/5. These dudes are stuck in the 60s.

Not any where as good as fellow scousers, The Zutons. I really enjoy Dreaming of you, but the rest isn't even very good sea-shanty indie rock. Poor and disappointing given the fame at the time of release. Makes sense why I didn't listen to the album in the early 2000s!

Interesting, but a bit repetitive

Interesting, good, but not probably something I would continue listening to.

The Coral's eponymous album is the recasting of old English rock in a sterile and emotionless form.

Like many people, I bought this record off the strength of Dreaming of You expecting more or same. But it was a trudge then and it’s a trudge now, lacking any substance and imitating progenitors you did it far better.

WOAH, I genuinely was very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this album. It's not something that a lot of people would appreciate, but I just liked the vibes. I don't think that there was anything special that day but I just felt hyped up when listening to the first two songs of the album. Of course, things started going downhill from the third song onwards, but I didn't expect it to be a perfect album, which is why I am giving it 5 stars. Pretty exciting getting an album that is not difficult to listen to :D

I’ve never forgotten an album quicker.

This one was just aight to me. Not bad, but not really memorable. I might need to come back to it, though.

Why? It was not good. Thankfully it was short. No need to listen or even consider.

Mietin että meneekö tää yliyrittämiseksi välillä: koetettu saada mukaan kaikenlaisia biisejä, vaihdella tempoja. Vaivattomalta se on saatu silti vaikuttamaan. B-puoli notkahtaa kumminkin, ei yllätä enää. Dreaming of you on jostain syystä ollut mun soittolistoilla, siitä on pitänyt oppia tykkäämään, kuten varmaan koko levystä.

Levyn soundi on vähän mollipopulistinen, mutta bändillä on ollut kiinnostusta äänittää muutakin kuin kivan kuuloista soittelua. Vakuuttajat: loppupuolen rokkarit Skeleton Key ja Bad Man.

It may not technically be directly in the ska category but dagnabbit I'm calling this a ska record and no one can stop me. It's funny that almost every professional review runs in a similar way - "One fantastic song (Dreaming of You), among other decent tracks", when there's not much to make that track standout between so many of the others here. It's not especially catchy or profound or anything, just another decent funky ska song. 4/10

10/10 everything I could ever want and more perfect rock revival album

ganz ok

Jaa beetje die britse meuk vibe maar dan wel lachen 3,5 sterrekes maar dan rond ik m toch af naar beneden

Eerste bristse rock album dat ergens op lijkt

This album just made me shrug. Yep, that was definitely an album. Not good, not terrible. It just exists. There are so many albums that deserve a place on this list that didn't make it. Piss off.

It's OK British pop rock. 2/5

meh

This is embarrassingly lame. If this came out in the 60's it would be excusable, but it didn't. IT CAME OUT IN THE 2000's. It's just the Doors if they couldn't sing or write interesting songs. They stole It's A Small World on the song Goodbye... Skeleton Key is one of the worst songs I have ever heard. Usually when I see a decent mix of 1's and 5's, I tend to lean towards the 5's or at least understand why people like it. But this is just straight ass, no idea why it was picked.

Hated pretty much every moment of this, but it gets a two cause it’s not like - offensively awful.

postitiv overraskelse! legesyg, varieret og ikke så lang at gimmicken bliver anstrengt. Dreaming of You er stadig fed

Fed plade! Aldrig hørt om det i mit liv, men der var nogen bangere og lyden var sjov! Forfatteren/erne af den her bog synes tydeligvis at tidligt-00er garage rock var the shit.