Premiere: Steve Mason – Rescue

A new poem written by Nick Power...

There was always much more to The Coral than met the eye.

Lumped in with the indie boom, their astute mixture of influences both classic and outré was matched by a lyrical flair which found both the beauty and poignancy of the everyday.

Currently taking an extended break, the varied members of the Scouse ensemble have thrown themselves into all manner of solo projects.

Keyboard player Nick Power, though, has decided to leave music for a brief moment and focus on his poetry.

Scribbling down missives, observations, studies for some time, Power will release his debut anthology ‘Small Town Chases’. A collection of 87 poems and lyrical stories, the 96 page book will be published in the UK by Erbacce Press.

Nick Power explains:

“The themes in 'Small Town Chase' ties in lyrically with a lot of the themes in The Coral’s songs, especially the last album – small town alienation, forgotten piers, love, loss and boredom. It's almost a companion piece, in that sense.”

“I wouldn't call it poetry as such, or even lyrics. It's just a world created through words and I think you've got to create that sort of world in whatever you're doing, whether it is music, film, literature or art. If it’s real or unreal enough for people to lose themselves in then you've succeeded. That's all I have ever been looking for, whether that was with The Coral or in Small Town Chase.”

Alongside this, Nick Power has recorded a number of friends reading his poetry. Available on SoundCloud, the current playlist includes John Simm (Dr Who/Life on Mars), Liam Fray (The Courteeners), Paul Heaton (The Beautiful South/The Housemartins), Maxine Peake (Shameless/Silk) and Cian Ciaran (Super Furry Animals).

Clash is able to premiere a reading of ‘Rescue’ by the Beta Band founder and bona fide cult hero Steve Mason. There’s a soft instrumental setting in the background, but the focal point is Mason’s voice, intoning words which are part Bukowski and part bedroom bard.

Listen to it in the Clash player.

Buy ‘Small Town Chase’ on Amazon.

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