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L to R: James Skelly, Ian Skelly, Paul Duffy, Paul Molloy, and Nick Power

May 25, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Simon Cardwell

England’s The Coral have announced two new albums, Sea of Mirrors and Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show, and shared the first single from the former, “Wild Bird,” via a music video. Both albums are due out September 8, but with a twist—Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show will only be released on physical formats (vinyl, CD, cassette) and not digitally. James Slater directed the “Wild Bird” video. Watch it below, followed by the tracklists and cover artwork for both albums.

The two albums are the follow-up to 2021’s Coral Island and 2018’s Move Through the Dawn. The new albums feature actors Cillian Murphy and John Simm, The Sundowners, and Love guitarist Johnny Echols. Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas, Stereolab) co-produced the albums and they also worked with producer Chris Taylor. The albums were partially recorded at Liverpool’s legendary Parr Street Studios, some of the last albums to be recorded there before it was closed down.

Frontman James Skelly speaks about “Wild Bird” in a press release: ““Like most of The Coral’s best known songs you could pick out, it was written in about five minutes. Once the album concept was clear, this was us imagining the theme tune for an Italian western directed by Fellini with a Richard Yates-written script. It’s us asking ourselves: what would have happened if Lee Hazlewood had produced a Gene Pitney song written by Townes Van Zandt?”

The Coral first came on the scene in the early 2000s, with their 2002-released self-titled debut getting nominated for The Mercury Prize. They have consistently released new albums since then.

Sea of Mirrors Tracklist:

1. The Actor And The Cardboard Cowboy
2. Cycles Of The Seasons
3. Faraway Worlds
4. Wild Bird
5. North Wind
6. Eleanor
7. Sea Of Mirrors
8. That’s Where She Belongs
9. The Way You Are
10. Dream River
11. Child Of The Moon
12. Almeria
13. Oceans Apart

Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show Tracklist: 1. Holy Joe (Sounds From The Other Side)
2. The Sinner
3. Hotel
4. Holy Joe (Hitchhiker At The Highway’s Edge)
5. Affiliation
6. Leave This Town
7. The Road Is Calling
8. Holy Joe (Rita Is Having A Bad One)
9. Never Be In Love Like That Again
10. Drifter’s Prayer
11. Holy Joe (Bobby And Faith)
12. Long Drive To The City
13. Down By The Riverside
14. Holy Joe (The Graveyard Shift)
15. Baby Face Nelson
16. Holy Joe (A Wise Man Once Said)
17. The Coral Island Killer
18. Holy Joe (Let The Credits Roll)

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