Magic and Medicine

by

The Coral

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`Magic & Medicine' comprises melodic tunes, and begins with the Beatles-ish `In the forest', a short, delightful strumming number, followed by the catchy `Don't think you're the first'. In fact, many groups come to mind as you listen to this, Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Super furry animals to name a few.

`Bill McCai' is a bouncy sing-along tune with a sharp twist to the tale. `Eskimo lament' is a tender ballad with great vocal harmonizing and a superb horn break.

Other standouts are `Secret kiss' and `Confessions of A.D.D.D', a psychedelic rocker with a great instrumental finale. `All of our love' would not sound out of place on a Radiohead cd, with it's barely audible, brooding vocals.

The bonus cd 'Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker' sounds like it was recorded by an entirely different group. It is in no way a throw away, all the songs are brilliant. The sound is darker, more experimental, Radiohead-ish (`Song of the corn', `Sorrow or the song', `Keep me company') and Super Furry Animal-ish (`Precious eyes').

The standout on this disc is the superb, upbeat `Grey Harpoon' with its X-Files/Twilight Zone-like sound effects. Another great track is 'Migrane' with it's twisted finale.

A splendid slice of Brit pop.