The Coronas - Closer To You Album Review

Having released their debut in 2007, The Coronas have firmly established themselves in the Irish charts, even beating U2 and Snow Patrol in the Meteor Awards in 2010 for their second record 'Tony Was An Ex-Con'. Now bringing album number three, they have recently completed a run of shows in the UK and then Germany.

Within the first 30 seconds of opener 'What You Think You Know' it is clear that the Gaelic flavour of earlier releases is still central to The Coronas' sound, but now very much with an arena audience in mind. Crunching guitars and a "whoa whoa" vocal hook are simple and effective, but don't disguise the lack of substance, something which is partially corrected on the enjoyable 'Mark My Words'. It is the swooning 'Dreaming Again' that proves the next notable track, but for the wrong reasons of uninspiring balladry and Danny O'Reilly's drawl passing the point of being bearable. Thankfully the urgent 'Addicted To Progress' reignites interest, despite some clumsy lyrics, but 'Write To Me' finds the quartet wanting once again. It is with the last couple of tracks that interest really peaks, 'Make It Happen' doing exactly that as a dark rock number and better yet 'Different Ending', which shows that when the band move out of their comfort zone they can produce something beautifully haunting. If more moments like this can be produced in future it could make The Coronas major players on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Alex Lai