The Coral: The Invisible Invasion : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The Coral are seven young Liverpudlians who debuted three years ago with a shape-shifting album that ornamented Nuggets-indebted psychedelic folk with horns, accordion, random effects and a vaguely Middle Eastern flavor. With The Invisible Invasion, their third album, they've toned down the experimentation in favor of a breezier, if subtly disturbed, Sixties-pop sound built around organ-tinged grooves and mysterioso melodies. The dark, gently rocking "Cripples Crown" works up a Doors-y sense of intrigue with little more than James Skelly's faceless warbling and some bent guitar notes, and both "Far From the Crowd" and "So Long Ago" would make apt soundtracks for a late-night walk on a deserted beach. The Coral sometimes sound small, especially when they up the tempo on self-consciously trippy cuts such as "She Sings the Mourning," but on The Invisible Invasion they better themselves by refusing to try so damn hard.