Liverpool must be one hell of a strange place. It seems that every twenty-something Scoucer that has the tinniest amount of music in their blood has somehow embraced the musical legacies Captain Beefheart's, Frank Zappa, Echo & The Bunnymen and others of this world.
It must be no strange coincidence that over the past few years, groups such as The Coral, The Bandits, The Stands and now The Zutons has sprouted up that share the same love of crazy music.
The Bandits gave a somewhat false hope, from them opening for Oasis to their disappointing debut album, they were quickly forgotten about. You then have The Stands, a band that create such un-offending melodies that no one bothered to take much notice. Then last but not least you have The Coral who are in this tricky position where they've got to deliver the goods on their next album in any hope to be remembered into the second half of this decade.
Now we come across The Zutons. After a few years grafting by traveling the live circuit, they've released Who Killed The Zutons?, a collection of songs that sound as if they were initially constructed on washboards, tin can drums and cardboard guitars.
The 64 thousand dollar question is whether The Zutons - four members consisting of front man Dave McCabe, lead guitarist Boyan Chowdhury, bassist Russel Pritchard, drummer Sean Payne and towering saxophonist Abi Harding have released an album good enough to push their way to the front alongside the Franz Ferdinand's, Keane's and Strokes of this world.
The first track of the album, Zuton Fever welcomes you to the overall sound of the album - skiffle. I'll give the guys some credit - they do have a unique sound. Even though the band have come from the same musical neck of the woods, they're not in the business to imitate anyone. You've got to love the nice Sax touches on this album!
Pressure Point and You Will You Won't show that the guys do have enough musical talent to craft catchy tunes. You Will You Won't, their current single, shows that regardless how simple a song is; it can still be incredibly catchy.
Then you have skiffle rockers like the catchy Dirty Dancehall, Havana Gang Brawl and Long Time Coming. The album chugs along delightfully easily.
Remember Me is a delightful little track that reminds you that true friends are always there for you, long after your girlfriend has left you. Remember Me is the hidden gem of the album - not an anthem or epic by any stretch, but a song that will be still remembered long after the other songs on the album have been forgotten.
The last track on the album, Moons And Horror Shows ends the album on a lightly paced, skiffle singalong with Saxophonist Abi Harding helping out on the lyrics. You can't help letting out a "ahhhh" from your mouth while the song builds up to some sweetly tinged clapping. Nice.
Because of the sound of simplicity on the songs, over half of the tracks feel incomplete, as if the group don't exactly know the direction that the songs should take stylistically. What you do end up with though, is non-offending, music for the summer season.
Another thing I must note, live these boys are a blast. It's unfortunate that the album doesn't live up to their stature live. I must admit that this review is a difficult one to write. I didn't want condemn The Zutons to the great Scouse bargain bin in the sky before I'd written anything about their new album.
Who Killed The Zutons? is an album that has partly succeeded. There are some nice tracks on the album; Railroad, Nightmare Part II and Remember Me stick in my mind - lets just hope these guys don't disappear too soon. Bring on the difficult second album!
7
