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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Magic & Medicine
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Deltasonic / Columbia
Release Date: 10 February 2004
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
One of the more attention-grabbing British bands to emerge in the last few years--their fun, genre-jumping debut album landed them a Mercury Music Prize nomination--The Coral returns with a more coherent, '60s-influenced sophomore LP.
Also By This Artist: Nightfreak And The Sons Of Becker [EP] Roots & Echoes The Coral The Invisible Invasion
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Under The Radar
This time around, a more restrained approach means a less exhausting listening experience. [#5, p.99]
Uncut
A darker and dramatically more cohesive collection than its predecessor. [Sep 2003, p.108]
Q Magazine
All of the elements that make the band great--the Shadowsy guitar solos, James Skelly's Eric Burdon-meets-Jimmy Corkhill croon, the breadth of imagination--are well lubricated, but the songwriting has rocketed. [Aug 2003, p.106]
Dot Music
The Coral have refined their influences, dropping some of the more incongruous blasts and revelations for a more concise, controlled dervish of Northern guitar colour and shade, West Coast psychedelic fever and Spaghetti Western landscapes and atmospherics.
Read Full Review >Splendid
Though it's fair to question their sense of tradition, they succeed where other blues-aping artists, like Gomez and Arnold, have failed, because they're not wholly indebted to the customs of the blues. They've merely co-opted its grisly spirit and transformed it into something unique.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Suggests even more urgently that that landmark album that's so patently within their grasp is tantalisingly close. This, however, is not it. Not quite. It is still, nevertheless, a quite dazzling album.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Magic and Medicine reveals a tightness of strong structure and definition of purpose (still all things '60s, but more folkie than psychedelic) lacking on the group's debut.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Though lacking the [debut'] exhilarating peaks, Magic is more consistent. [13 Feb 2004, p.71]
Trouser Press
The expansive palette of the debut has been shorn of its tumult and restlessness.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Magic And Medicine's draggy Bob Dylan homage "Talkin' Gypsy Market Blues" shows the limitation of using old rock as window dressing, while the bulk of the disc presents a better-integrated fusion of varied hypnotic pop sounds.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
A subtler pleasure. [30 Oct 2003, p.92]
Mojo
This isn't a great departure from The Coral but mainman James Skelly's increasingly witty words and ear for a killer jig put this in a loveable place of its own. [Aug 2003, p.95]
Blender
More mature, more focused, and a little less fun. [Mar 2004, p.115]
CultureDose.net
Magic & Medicine is hardly a record that will catapult The Coral to the next level; but at the same time, it's also far from being an embarrassment.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
On Magic & Medicine, the band's frenetic freakout leanings have been stripped away in favor of a more humble approach, placing subtlety and songwriting above the sounds being produced. It all sounds far less interesting.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Magic & Medicine would be a modest success if it weren't for a handful of songs that nearly ruin things.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
Pretty though much of Magic and Medicine is, it's an ultimately frustrating piece of work.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
Medicine is certainly a cohesive and mature outing, but it isn't nearly as fun as the band's previous shenanigans. [May 2004, p.102]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
North Freedom Fighter gave it a9:
Beautifully crafted and innovative, a definite must have for anyone with any interest in Brit Rock and psychedelica.
Robert A gave it an 8:
This album is lively but a little less fun then their debut.
Nse E gave it a 10:
Magic & Medicine comprises melodic tunes, and begins with the Beatles-ish In the forest, a short, delightful strumming number, followed by the catchy Dont think youre the first. 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 with a great instrumental finale. All of our love would not sound out of place on a Radiohead cd. The bonus cd 'Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker' sounds like it was recorded by an entirely different group. 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. A splendid slice of Brit pop.
Aaron M gave it a 9:
Brilliant!! Better than their debut.
Ned F gave it a 9:
Such a contrast from their first one, but in a good way, with James Skelly's wonderful voice echoing through things like "All Of Our Love". Truly marvellous.
Ben J gave it a 6:
Neither as musically inventive nor, sadly, as melodic as their debut. The songs amble, the mood is pretty dour, and only "Pass It On" raises the stakes.
