The band have revealed to NME that they were behind a quiet LP drop in record shops this month, saying they’re trying to keep things “interesting” and “engaging for the fans” with their stripped-back latest project, inspired by ’70s Zambian music, Brooke Combe and more
The Coral have spoken about quietly releasing their surprise new album ‘388’ in record stores nearly a fortnight ago, ahead of officially sharing the project today (May 21st). Read on for more on how the “raw” collection came about, and listen to lead single ‘Let The Music Play’.
Copies of the LP appeared in independent vinyl shops across the UK completely unannounced. While it was clearly by The Coral, the band hadn’t commented on social media or anywhere else about the record, or confirmed they were behind the 11 new songs.
Now, the five-piece have broken their silence giving reason why they wanted to surprise fans with a new full-length effort – three years on from releasing both ‘Sea Of Mirrors’ and ‘Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show’ on the same day in 2023. It comes as ‘388’ arrives to the wider world via online streaming platforms and in high street music stockists nationwide.
“Releasing an album this way keeps us interested and keeps the fans interested too,” said frontman James Skelly of the initial low-key drop. “The idea was to release it how records used to be released: people can just have it for a couple of weeks, and it isn’t explained to anyone.”
Keyboardist Nick Power added: “Half the idea was that people would see it and think that, because we hadn’t announced anything, that ‘388’ might be a bootleg. We wanted people to wonder: ‘What is this?’ Not saying anything about it since it’s been out has been the hardest aspect.”
Skelly joked: “I felt a bit snide not reacting when people are tagging me in posts saying how much they love it.”
‘388’ was inspired by the nostalgia for The Coral’s beginnings as teenagers, as documented in the 2024 book The Making Of The Debut Album about their 2002 self-titled album and a documentary about the band’s history, 2025’s “Dreaming Of You”.
“Watching our documentary reminded me of how lyrically direct some of our early songs were,” Skelly said. “We needed to get back to that. I’d skirt around lyrics about love, when I shouldn’t. I’m trying to get the message across now as directly and emotionally as possible.”
James Skelly: Thanks! ‘388’ is our 13th album. If you’re not massive by your 13th record, you might as well try to be interesting. Hopefully, releasing an album like this is engaging for the fans. It’s not really for anyone else; it’s for the fans who have stuck by us. We released multiple versions of our album ‘Coral Island’, so it’s nice to do something simple as a contrast: one vinyl LP, that’s it.”
Skelly: “‘Sea Of Mirrors’ was a big, orchestral record. That record needed to be presented more, but ‘388’ doesn’t need a big fanfare. We felt everything we do needs simplifying, as everything – music, films – has got over-complicated.
“We’ve tried to get back to basics. The sound and the way this has been released is the simplest it can be.”
Nick Power: “There’s nothing sophisticated on this album, and that’s by design. Songs on the radio now, you can hear how everyone has been to the same songwriters.
“It’s harder now to strip music back to the bare bones. You’ve got to commit to making your music raw, because the instinct is to fix things and make it better. It’s more of a discipline to strip it right back and not fuck with it afterwards.”
Skelly: “We made this in a way that you can’t fuck with it. We’re all in the room together, playing on top of each other, so that you can’t really change anything. If you try to turn the bass up, it’ll also turn the drums up. Why do another take when it sounds good already?
Recorded to an original 1970’s Tascam 388 tape recorder and employing a ‘warts and all’ policy of retaining the essentially human, profoundly analogue sounds within the studio, mistakes included, the album was revealed with focus on the album opener, “Let The Music Play”, With a continued sense of introspection and focus on their roots, the release of a new video for “Leave It In The Past” finds the band performing amongst the bargains of Birkenhead Market in the company of director, James Slater.
Singer and songwriter, James Skelly, says of the location choice: “Ian and I used to live above a pub in Charing Cross, Birkenhead and wander round the market at weekends. It was a magical place to us. The atmosphere of the place, and the characters you still find there, reflect the ethos of ‘388’. It’s simultaneously of today and another time entirely.”
The Fat Angel Sings 