WIRRAL chart-toppers The Coral have confirmed they will release two new albums at the same time later this year.

The band's first new music since 2021 is preceded by a single Wild Bird which sees the Hoylake five-piece "imagining the scorched sand, cardboard cowboys and flooded sets of a never-made Italian spaghetti western" before the release of Sea of Mirrors, the Coral's 11th studio album, on Friday, September 8. 

After 2021’s Coral Island album landed the Number 2 spot on the UK’s Official Album Chart and won unanimous critical praise, material for two, further albums occurred to the band.

Inspired by a script written by keyboard player, Nick Power, and vintage cinema foyer poster artwork created by drummer, Ian Skelly, Sea Of Mirrors’ concept has "become the blueprint for The Coral to move beyond all expectations once again", according to a spokesperson for the band. 

Wirral Globe:

The album's string arrangements come courtesy of the album’s co-producer, Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas, Stereolab) who was welcomed into The Coral fold as one of a number of guests and collaborators featured across Sea Of Mirrors’ 13-tracks.

Between the two albums, the band additionally count actors Cillian Murphy and John Simm, plus Love guitarist, Johnny Echols, as contributors. Former band member, Bill Ryder-Jones joins the songwriting credits for Sea Of Mirrors. The Sundowners are also amongst guests adding their voices to the album.

The Coral's frontman James Skelly said of Wild Bird: “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?”

Bridging Coral Island and Sea Of Mirrors, a second album titled Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show, will also be released this September. With the full tracklisting limited to one-off pressings on physical vinyl, CD and cassette formats only.

Sea Of Mirrors and Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show became the last albums to be recorded at Liverpool’s legendary Parr Street Studios, a long-term home to The Coral and numerous other bands from inside and outside the city prior to its closure last year.

Opening sessions with O’Hagan in London, returning to Parr Street and, eventually, completing in final sessions at Skelly and producer, Chris Taylor’s new recording facility, Kempston Street Studios, the album finds itself a part of music history for reasons beyond it’s place in The Coral’s extensive catalogue.

While restlessly moving forward album-by-album, The Coral’s legendary status in British music is already assured by their run of hit singles including Dreaming Of You (now on over 100m streams globally and securing UK Platinum status), Pass It On, Don’t Think You’re The First and In The Morning. With ten albums to their name to date, six of those have reached the Top 10 including Coral Island and 2003’s No.1 chart success, Magic and Medicine which saw the band nominated for Best Group at the Brit Awards.