In the vast literary production of Honoré de Balzac, there is a novel, "La Peau de Chagrin," in which the protagonist, after just a few pages, enters an antique store located in the heart of Paris. Like in a dream, he remains ecstatic and astonished in front of the myriad of multicolored fabrics, precious stones with iridescent hues, objects and trinkets of every shape and size; everything piled up and alternated apparently without any order except to bewilder the customer of the moment.

Here, the debut album by the English band The Coral presents many points of contact with this bazaar: fragments of multiple styles and musical genres are stacked with a playful and eccentric approach in a constant whirling of tempo changes, imaginative ideas, and quirky solutions.

With a visceral love for 60s beat and psychedelic micro-expansions that constitute the “background” of almost all the tracks, the sudden shifts in direction and the use of the most disparate musical influences make the album a sonic amusement park where each ride rarely exceeds three minutes.

To the warm, acid ride of the initial "Spanish Main," and the crew of drunken pirates who, on a syncopated rhythm punctuated by a harmonica, sing to the moon in "Shadows Fall," are alternated, for example, the blend of seductive aggressiveness of "I Remember When," and the chart-topping indie single "Dreaming of You." The Doors-esque "Waiting for Heartaches" precedes the ramshackle punk of "Skeleton Key"; the hard-blues of "Badman" follows the hint of sweetened progressive in "Wildfire."

Even within each individual piece, the progression is never linear, but reserves surprises at every turn: the vigorous pace of "Goodbye," for example, unravels in the center into a velvety introspective drift, then resumes with the robust initial guitar riff; the brit-pop of "Calendars and Clocks" gradually transforms into an obsessive rock crescendo.

Psychedelic reverberations, electronic counterpoints, folk inserts, ska, and a broad use of choral singing make the album a continuous play of mirrors and references where The Coral draw from all these musical sources, synthesizing them with freshness and personality and adapting them to a song form of short (sometimes very short) duration. To leave nothing out, there's even a ghost-track, "Time Travel," where the guiding lines are traced this time by a languid reggae.

A joyful, whimsical, sunny, spring-like, bizarre, and eclectic album, well played and even better produced. I leave the bazaar dazed and am eager to go back in!

Tracklist and Lyrics

01   Spanish Main (00:00)

02   I Remember When (00:00)

I remember when I saw the sea freeze
But it said nothing about the birds and the bees
They were swarming around my head
You'd be better off dead

But I ain't going down like that
I ain't going down like that

Cos I'm better than him and I know where I've been
You know where god I'm bound
And I'm higher to sin but don't we all sin
If that is the truth then the truth is grim
Now it ain't easy in jail, the stories for sale
Your father has died while he's gripped for bail
He points to the west and he leaves out the rest
And wants you to be his special guest

ooooooooooooooooh

I remember when I saw the leaves fall
I was in the woods, and the gown you wouldn't wear to the Ball
Into the ditch I fly
Wanted dead or alive

But I ain't going down like that
No I ain't going down like that

Cos I'm better than him and I know where I've been
You know where god I'm bound
And I'm higher to sin but don't we all sin
If that is the truth then the truth is grim
Now it ain't easy in jail, the stories for sale
Your father has died while he's gripped for bail
He points to the west and he leaves out the rest
And wants you to be his special guest

oooooooooooohh

Hi Hi Hi

Cos I'm better than him and I know where I've been
You know where god I'm bound
And I'm higher to sin but don't we all sin
If that is the truth then the truth is grim
And STOP!

03   Shadows Fall (00:00)

Morning comes darkness drops
Upon this day a shadow falls
Silence warps through the halls
Since I've been gone, gone, gone

A hundred years from today
Lamplights ablaze? paves my way
Till jesus saves my early grave
I will be gone, gone, gone

Drop the anchor lift my heart
From stem to stern I'm torn apart
Mount my horse? pack my cart?
Tomorrow I'm gone, gone, gone

Seek the hull? leave the deck
Silver moon silhouette
In due time you will forget
That I am gone, gone, gone
I will be gone, gone, gone
Since I've been gone, gone, gone
Tomorrow I'm gone, gone, gone

04   Dreaming Of You (00:00)

[HH_Favorite]

What's up with my heart when it skips a beat (skips a beat)
Can't feel no pavement right under my feet (under my feet)

Up in my lonely room
When I'm dreaming of you (wah oooo)
Oh what can I do
I still need you, but
I don't want you now

When I'm down and my hands are tied (hands are tied)
I cannot reach a pen for me to draw the line (draw the line)
From this pain I just can't disguise
Its gonna hurt but I'll have to say goodbye

Up in my lonely room
When I'm dreaming of you (wah oooo)
Oh what can I do
I still need you, but
I dont want you now

Oh yeah

Ohhh Ohhhhh

Up in my lonely room
When I'm dreaming of you (wah oooo)
Oh what can I do
I still need you, but
I dont want you now

05   Simon Diamond (00:00)

Simon Diamond sold his soul
Changed his name by deed poll
Started out as Simon Russell
Lived his life inside a nutshell

Oooh ooooh Oooooooh Ooooooh

He couldn't take the public scorn
Changed from human to plant form
Now he swapped his legs for roots
His arms and soil are in cahoots

Oooh ooooh Oooooooh Ooooooh

What will become of Simon Diamond
Water himself
Can't change the climate
What will become of Simon Diamond
Water himself
Can't change the climate

Oooh ooooh Oooooooh Ooooooh

That'll do (That'll do) (16x)
Oooh Oooh

06   Goodbye (00:00)

I, I look into her eyes
Saw through her disguise
But never realised
That we were longing to be free
Runaway to sea
Well that could never be

Goodbye don't say goodbye
I'd rather die
Than say goodbye

Once so very long ago
Was when I loved you so
If only I had known
That I was blinded by my fate
I traded love for hate
Now I just sit and wait

Goodbye don't say goodbye
I'd rather die
Than say goodbye

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Goodbye don't say goodbye
I'd rather die
Than say goodbye

Goodbye don't say goodbye
I'd rather die
Than say goodbye

07   Waiting For The Heartaches (00:00)

08   Skeleton Key (00:00)

Sail lightly on winds
Disappear on the breeze
Lie firmly on pins
Pull them out with ease

Solid boned skeleton key
Opens the most intricate locks
Brother roll another for me
I am shipwrecked on the rocks

Fumble blindly as we speak
You will wither if you are weak
Finger turns and points at me
I'd hoped they wouldn't notice me

Solid boned skeleton key
Opens the most intricate locks
Brother roll another for me
I am shipwrecked on the rocks

Will I ever return?
Will I ever get back?
Are the rocks too high?
Has the dust turned black?

Will I ever return?
Will I ever get back?
Are the rocks too high?
Has the dust turned black?

Skeleton Key (x4)

Will I ever return?
Will I ever get back?
Are the rocks too high?
Has the dust turned black?

Solid boned skeleton key
Opens the most intricate locks
Brother roll another for me
I am shipwrecked on the rocks

Oh yeah
Hey
That's more like
Here we go here we go
Here we go go Byker Grove
Can't believe it's so good
Can't believe it's so good

09   Wildfire (00:00)

10   Badman (00:00)

Theres a bad man that I once knew
His heart was black and his blood was blue
Bad man, hes commin for you
Hed sell his wife for a dollar or two
To be a rich man with many maids
Hes got eyes like hand grenades
He had a good woman
In the palm of his hand
Until she left him for another man

Now hes a bad, bad man
A bad, bad man
You gotta do what you can
When youre a bad man

(Everyone gotta be a bad man every once in a while, the lord knows hes a bad man )

Hes a bad man and thats the truth
The devils law dont need no proof
Hes a jealous man .All alone
A motel room is not a home
Helpless man, he fell ill
He was prescribed a fatal pill
Now hes a dead man
His hearts still black
His only love stabbed him in the back

Now hes a bad, bad man
A bad, bad man
You gotta do what you can
When youre a bad man

Now hes a bad, bad man
A bad, bad man
You gotta do what you can

Cos you're a bad bad man
You're a bad bad man
You're a bad bad man
You got to do what you can
When you're a bad man

11   Calendars And Clocks (00:00)

12   Simian Technology (00:00)

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