The Coral release their new studio album, Sea Of Mirrors, and share the twilight requiem of 'Faraway Worlds' as the final track lifted from the record
Turning the cracked glamour of weary and lost fallen idols of film to face the doledrum-documentarians of 20th Century cinematic songwriting, founder member, songwriter and singer, James Skelly has previously described Sea Of Mirrors as the imagined soundtrack to “an Italian western directed by Fellini with a Richard Yates-written script” while namechecking Lee Hazlewood’s 1970 TV soundtrack, A Cowboy In Sweden, as one in a range of influential catalysts.
Yet, ‘Faraway Worlds’, the fourth song fans are able to hear in advance of Sea Of Mirror’s anticpated release, following previews including ‘Wild Bird’ and ‘That’s Where She Belongs’, celebrates the power of imagination to fill voids of obvious inspiration. Looking back to the innocent wandering of brothers, James and the band’s drummer, Ian Skelly’s minds as children, the tapestry of weary bar room piano, slide guitar, flute and rich vocal harmonies forms a dusky, late-running highlight from the score to a film that has only existed, and can only ever exist, in the singular, creative world of The Coral.
Listen to ‘Faraway Worlds’ by The Coral on the Liverpool FC Official Playlist on Spotify.
James Skelly says of the track: “Ian and I wrote this one together. We were trying to capture the feeling of when we were kids, creating our own worlds. Lyrically, it’s inspired by Dylan Thomas, musically by John Martyn and the more pastoral side of Pink Floyd.”
On the same day as Sea Of Mirrors is released, the band have also released the single-pressing, physical formats-only Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show, completing a characteristically unorthodox, summer-long voyage to both their 11th and 12th long-players.
The last albums to be recorded at Liverpool’s now lost, yet legendary studio complex, Parr Street, both Sea Of Mirrors and Holy Joe… were made to shine by the abundant virtues of collaboration. While welcoming The High Llamas and Stereolab’s Sean O’Hagan on board as co-producer for Sea Of Mirrors, detailing the album with string arrangements and challenging the band with quality-controlling critique, the band also welcomed Oppenheimer actor, Cillian Murphy to provide the finishing, dramatic touches to album closer, ‘Oceans Apart’.
Found to sit perfectly in the gap between the world created by their universally-acclaimed 2021 double album, Coral Island and the flooded set and soaked cardboard cowboys of Sea Of Mirrors’ doomed film set story, Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show’s broken radio broadcast, providing a further 17 tracks, is narrated once again by the Skelly’s grandfather, The Great Muriarty. Looking another step beyond the band for finishing touches, Holy Joe… features the previously released ‘Drifter’s Prayer’, narrated by Dr Who, Life On Mars and Grace actor, John Simm.
