The Zutons have long been an enigma to this writer. Having first heard them prior to the release of their debut album I, along with most music journalists, lumped them in with the ‘cosmic Scouse’ bands headed up by the many-headed musical Hydra that is The Coral. Indeed, ‘Who Killed… The Zutons’ shares an eclecticism and sense of bizarreness with James Skelly’s modern day wandering minstrels, but the more I listened the more I realised that the Zutons had a couple of things lacking from The Coral’s arsenal. Dave McCabe’s ear for a catchy hook and embracing of pop sensibilities quickly propelled the band above their label mates and in Saxophonist/vocalist Abi Harding the band have a true trump card, not only do her saxophone lines immediately mark the band out amongst their peers, but her good looks and short skirts ensure their videos get more than their share of play on music TV stations, never a bad thing. By the time their second album ‘Tired Of Hanging Around’ was released the band had morphed into a more chart friendly beast, losing some of the darkness so prevalent on their earlier tunes (though lyrically there was still a fair bit of edge to the band) and writing the song that would steamroller them to success, even if it is now associated with Ronson and Winehouse (though she performed a much better, more raw version on Radio One’s live lounge). Perceived wisdom has it that the royalties from Valerie bought McCabe a new house, but what it really bought the band was freedom to do what they wanted. In the process though they lost guitarist Boyan Chowdhury. This brings us to ‘You Can Do Anything’, the bands latest release. This is by far the bands most mainstream work yet, crowd pleasing choruses abound and the polish that producer George Drakoulias (The Black Crowes, Tom Petty) has applied should help even the weaker tracks here get plenty of airplay. It’s difficult after listening to this album, to decide who the bands peers are now, they’re no longer part of the ‘Liverpool scene’, though eyewitness reports place the band at any number of gigs in the city on a weekly basis. Neither are they rock juggernauts. In fact, the nearest point of reference would probably be Dexy’s Midnight Runners, or Squeeze, both bands who adeptly wrote the catchiest of pop songs that, when listened to closely, revealed hidden depths. The band haven’t been blunted though, sharpness of wit comes not only from the vitriolic ‘Bumbag’, but most notably on the excellent ‘Freak’, a perfectly captured view through the eyes of a gigolo that, despite being one of the strongest songs McCabe has yet written, is inexplicably not heard until ten tracks into the album. But whether the band are surveying the darker edges of life or crafting ever catchier slices of pop perfection the one thing that stands out most of all here is that they love every minute of it.
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