Liverpool has produced its fair share of oddball pop groups over the years, but it's hard to believe that it's ever spawned anything quite so strange as The Coral. This group of six precociously talented young scallies have produced what may well turn out to be the best debut album of the year, although it has to be said it's one of the most downright confusing as well. It only lasts just over 30 minutes, but The Coral manages to fit in almost as many styles, often cramming bits of ska, reggae and psychedelia into the space of a single song. It's incredibly disorientating, and should be annoying as well yet somehow the band's prevailing sense of wide-eyed joy at their own inventiveness makes it impossible to do anything but sit back and enjoy the ride. In time, The Coral will surely grow up and make less manic, more focused records. For now, however, just be thankful that such gloriously unpredictable groups as this can still exist and enjoy the sound of genius in its puberty.
