Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The early morning light that shines down on the River Mersey is one that can captivate the soul, from either side of its quiet roar, whether seen from the vantage of the blind but all-seeing Iron Men that line the route downstream like guards on view, saluting in a returning hero from its nightly excursions, or across the water, where its majesty mixes with the morning dew and creates a sense of hope, of individual and collectivism that nowhere else can match; it is almost as if this Move Through The Dawn is the herald of the stirring heart being woken, a call to arms to see the right thing done.
The Coral may have their roots on the Wirral Peninsula but the Dawn shines down on those it deems fit, passionate, about their lives, to give them the impetuous to grasp the importance of the message they are about to sew into the minds of all; it is a message that has always thrilled the fans and since the release of Distance Inbetween in 2016 which marked the end of a five year absence from the studio, is one that is quite a thrill to be in the company of.
The early morning shadows provide shield-like cover for the unexpected raid on the senses, the listener and the fan perhaps unprepared for the trip ahead, but one that is as welcome as blazing sunshine after a protracted period of downpour. It is from these shadows that James Skelly, Ian Skelly, Nick Power, Paul Duffy and Paul Molloy, making his second appearance with The Coral, raid the dawn, up before the languishing lark and the call of the maleficent magpie and their calls of homage to the new day.
In songs such as Reaching Out For A Friend, Strangers In The Hollow, Eyes Of The Moon, Undercover Of The Night and Outside My Window, The Coral, and their guest musicians and vocalists Jack Prince, Rich Turvey, Charlie Salt, Zak McDonnell and the magnificent Niamh Rowe, seize the dawn by the scruff of the neck and take pleasure in serving up an album that continues forthrightly The Coral story, but one that also feels like appearance of a new origin, a rebirth as the Dawn settles on the Mersey.
A powerful statement from The Coral, an album that goes big and marches towards the light appearing in the distance.
Ian D. Hall