Album: The Coral, Singles Collection (Columbia/Deltasonic)

No other band from Britpop's second wave of guitar-bands has produced such an impressive body of work as The Coral, as this superlative compilation ably demonstrates.

In places, their restless desire to explore can lead them into strange musical hybrids, but there's no denying James Skelly's songwriting talents, nor the band's apparently limitless grasp of whatever mode they alight upon. They tackle offbeat organ ska-pop ("Dreaming of You"), folk-rock ("Liezah"), Morricone-esque pop exotica ("Don't Think You're The First"), strident psych-rock ("Goodbye"), haunted western soundscaping ("Shadows Fall"), twangy polka-pop ("Bill McCai"), sweeping orchestral pop (the new single, "Being Somebody Else"), a more original Lennon-McCartney pastiche than any Oasis track ("Jacqueline"), and several songs that conjure the irresistible from the seemingly inconsequential. A bonus disc of mysteries and rarities extends their reach further.

Pick of the album:'In the Morning', 'Pass It On', 'Don't Think You're the First', 'Bill McCai', 'Dreaming of You', 'Being Somebody Else'