Scouse outfit The Coral made their name with lilting, folky gems like Pass It On, but from album opener More Than A Lover it’s clear the quintet are aiming for a lusher, more cinematic aesthetic with Butterfly House.
On this score they certainly deliver, with plenty of songs sporting layered harmonies, jangling guitars and West Coast Americana-inspired melodies. The problem is that they go too far – the title track with its Clangers-style voice-over and noodly guitar climax, for instance, over-eggs the pudding – or not far enough, sounding like a cut-price The Byrds.
They are on safer ground with the delicate pastoralism of Walking In The Winter, but sadly, there are not enough tunes like it to rescue Butterfly House from its own retro morass.
2/5
Review: Alison Grinter
