Coral Collapse is a dream-pop band based out of Buffalo, New York who have recently returned with their new single “Graves” a song inspired by Mexican novelist Juan Rulfo’s novel Pedro Páramo.
It captures a very lovely balance of indie rock and folk with a bit of a dreamy slick polished guitar tones on some great guitar riffs. It all combines into something that feels warmly reminiscent of early 2000s indie artists such as Nada Surf.
Find the band’s detailed insight about the creation of the song below:
“Graves” represents a breakthrough moment, a stylistic and tonal diversion that the band–perhaps ironically–felt more confident to pursue amid the pandemic and remote collaboration. The concept has been stewing in my head for a long time, inspired by a reading, when I was young, of Mexican novelist Juan Rulfo’s novel Pedro Páramo. As it goes, the initial idea morphed into something that perhaps fits more neatly into an existential treatise (or, seemingly incongruously, a 3-minute pop song). I envision the song, somewhat morbidly, as the utterance of someone who may or may not be dead–someone who is speaking despite not knowing the entirety of their condition, nor the full meaning of what they say. In this sense, the song, and its lyrics, proceed as if through dream-states, connected by associational logic rather than reality. In this way–again ironically–the song actually does resemble waking life in recent times, which has seemed to belong to the realm of nightmares. In terms of its personal import, the song to me is cathartic and signals the beginning of a new phase in my life. I’m not particularly superstitious, but if “Graves” were a Tarot card, it would certainly be the Death card, which can signify major change or alteration (even rebirth) as much as physical death.
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