Charles Hutchinson looks at the rapid rise of Liverpool's The Coral.

THE prospect of closure has worked wonders for York Barbican Centre and its concert programme.

The Sugababes, Liberty X and Craig David have all played there this year, and when The Coral decided to bolster their sold-out winter itinerary, they picked the Barbican for one of only two extra December dates.

The Liverpool chart-toppers take their Barbican bow on Thursday, and predictably the show is selling well in the wake of the success of their second album, Magic And Medicine.

Fans will be hoping for more magic and no need for medicine this time after The Coral's ill-starred first show in York. They finally broke their York duck in February 2002 at Fibbers, after postponing the gig three times on the grounds of illness on all three occasions. Ironically, when the Scouse teens did appear at last, the set was curtailed by lead singer Matt Skelly suffering from a sore throat.

This year has found The Coral in rude health, building on the momentum of their self-titled debut album selling 270,000 copies. Second album Magic And Medicine rose to the number one spot in July, and latest single Bill McCai, released on November 24, has followed Don't Think You're The First, Pass It On and Secret Kiss into the charts.

In June, they topped the bill at A Midsummer Night's Scream at New Brighton, The Wirral, and now the Liverpudlians are undertaking their biggest ever tour, 14 dates in all, including Glasgow, London, Bristol and Manchester, and York.

In the tradition of Liverpool bands from The Beatles to Echo and The Bunnymen, The Coral are masters of light and shade. Bill McCai, for example, wraps a tale of alcoholism, poverty and suicide inside a homely romp of an infectious tune.

This sprightly yet prickly track typifies the breadth and range of The Coral on Magic And Medicine, an album whose brush strokes are subtler than those on last year's debut. Throughout there are 1950s-style big band blasts, bluegrass and banjo, cowbells and Cajun sunsets to surprise and ensnare you.

Singer Skelly says: "On this album we've been thinking less is more, choosing the notes very carefully. We're restless, we can't just stay in one place."

To prove the point, rumours are rife of secret recording sessions in North Wales and an underground mini-album in the making. All recorded live in the studio and rather different to Magic And Medicine. Beware, however, it is said to be very dark.

Updated: 09:44 Friday, December 12, 2003