The Coral

In the early 2000s, British bands looking to refresh guitar music often turned to the sounds of the ’60s, and few did it with as much flair as The Coral. Their 2002 self-titled debut mixed quirky pub rock (Dreaming of You) with swirling psychedelic sprawl (Goodbye), announcing them as one of Merseyside’s most inventive exports. Formed in the late ’90s by schoolmates Paul Duffy, Bill Ryder-Jones, Ian and James Skelly, the band quickly built momentum. Their second album, Magic and Medicine, topped the UK albums chart and spawned enduring singles, followed by the bright garage-pop of 2005’s In the Morning, produced by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley. Though Ryder-Jones departed in 2008, The Coral pressed on, embracing adventurous songwriting across albums like 2018’s Move Through the Dawn. In 2021, they released Coral Island, a double concept record where their hallmark mix of melody, wit, and psychedelia thrived, cementing their reputation for inventive, timeless guitar music.