The Coral – The Curse of Love

From an artistic perspective, whenever a commodity is superseded by the word lost it’s usually done so to evoke interest in a presumably lacklustre concept among an otherwise wealthy catalogue. It’s a cheap marketing ploy that drags up products that were deliberately hidden away from the public often for being too offensive, too obscure, or even just plain terrible.

With seemingly nothing new to deliver, The Coral, a once flourishing indie-rock act, have seemingly fallen into this device reaching back into the archives to release their “forgotten” LP, The Curse of Love.

Originally recorded after 2005’s The Invisible Invasion, the band decided to shift away from their ska-infused pop hooks for a more sombre, mystical folk sound that they captured on a simple eight-track player. Perhaps realising the difficulty it would take to market this conception, the group decided to scrap the album and focus their energy towards newer material in what would become 2007’s Root & Echoes.

Solo projects and breakups behind them, lead vocalist James Skelly and co have seemingly put their differences aside to jump aboard the recent folk revival bandwagon with a collection of tunes originally intended never to see the light of day. The Curse of Love, while lacking in any real substance, is a fairly intriguing listen especially to those interested in seeing what else the band can produce. However, repeat listenings ultimately deaden the experience with much of the album merely resting like an off-kilter indie film score. Sandwiched between two alternate versions of the title track, the album is awash with subtle guitar tones and eerie psychedelic inflections that do little to hide thin vocals and flat drum beats (even by folk standards).

Looking ahead, the release of this “lost” material will probably satisfy the appetite of any diehard The Coral fans and may even be the fuel that reignites the band’s creative juices. However, as a stand-alone compilation, The Curse of Love will undoubtedly suffer the fate of once again being forgotten.

Jack Hill

The Curse of Love was released on 20^th October 2014, for further information or to order the album visit here.

Watch the video for The Curse of Love here: