British indie music saved (again)! That’s the idea, anyway — the papers (here’s one typical review) have been going mad for The Coral. They didn’t sound too bad from the write-ups, either. I like to be told what to like, sometimes — it’s very rare for a hyped new band to have nothing interesting about them. So what’s interesting about The Coral? They fit into a lazy, have-a-go Brit-psych tradition that I enjoy, with throaty beat-boom vocals on the faster tracks. ‘Shadows Fall’ breaks its own flow with a bit of vaudeville shuffle which — let’s be honest — sounds a bit like Space, and that’s a mistake, but a short one. The tunes are good; the energy is there; the swagger isn’t excessive. Ian Broudie produces and makes the band sound a little too bright, not quite hazy enough — I’m reminded of a what a cleaned-up Beta Band would sound like, or a Beta Band who cared about cleaning up.
So, yeah, I like it. I like them. Is it depressing that British guitar pop has backslid so much that even these half-steps towards an individual voice are hailed as leaps and bounds? A little bit, yes — but minor pleasures are pleasures nonetheless.