Who Killed…… The Zutons

I killed them 🤪

The more varied, bluesy side of indie sleaze, bit like the Fratellis.
Zutons as a band never blew me away, but this is a pretty good album.

At the risk of sounding repetitive. This is yet another record that, on its own, sounds catchy, reminiscent of the Classic Rock era, with the added interest of the saxophone. However, no matter how solid an indie record it is, I don't see the significance that would merit its inclusion.

7/10 [DROP]

I wish the Zutons were killed because then I never would have had to listen to this miserable fuckup of an album

I’m at a super easy 5. A little higher, honestly.

I mean, is it really an essential listen in the grand scheme of music? No, probably not. Is it a good time? You’re damn right it is. This is 40 minutes of quick-paced blues rock with a loose ska/country lean & a wide variety of subjects. There’s a lot of influences at hand here, taking from the garage rock revival that was ongoing, a bit of a Rolling Stones flair, and a lot of R.E.M. in the general pacing / structure of these tracks. The lyricism gets a bit eerie (yet still lighthearted) at times, but I think it works. It’s not shocking stuff; it’s just framing these scenarios with a bit more fear to make their points feel a bit weightier. It works really well.

Of course, that weight is buoyed by the instrumentation, which is kinda just fantastic throughout. There’s a nice variety to everything, but the thing I like most about this album is just how tactile the recording feels. There’s an authenticity to it all that feels like you’re rocking out with them; you can hear the bass strings, every drum crash, every breath in Dave McCabe’s vocals, and something about it lifts up the album even more. It’s got just enough of a rawness that makes listening to it even more fun.

I think my favorite track here is probably “Pressure Point”, but you can’t really go wrong with any track here. I do have little nitpicks, like “Railroad” being a little slow & “Long Time Coming” needing a bit more clarity for my tastes, but those barely matter. Every track has something cool going for it, whether it’s in a great solo, a cool vocal structure (there’s plenty here), or a super interesting concept (“Havana Gang Brawl” & “Dirty Dancehall” really won me over). When it’s not going too out there, it just knows how to strip back & be more relatable; “Not a Lot to Do” & “Remember Me” are a nice 1-2 punch of local, slice-of-life stuff, with the former being a glum Sunday & the latter being about trying to get a friend some time with the guys.

I don’t know who killed the Zutons, but I know the Zutons killed it here. This is right down my alley, and for 2004, it feels like a really nice balance of the late 2000s to come, the indie rock scene at the time, and all the inspirations they clearly wear on their sleeve, all of whom are bands I like a lot. You could call it safe, and that’s fine. The floor is very much a 3 if it doesn’t click like that, or if you can’t get anything more out of it. For me though, it was just a lot of fun. I think there has to be a careful balance to not confuse safe with boring, as this is anything but boring to my ears. It felt like a serotonin hit to me, and I’m glad I heard it before I died. I think it’s a 5, if not a little higher, at least to my brain.

Dette høres ut som noen har trengt royaltyfree rockemusikk til en film.

Slower country/folksy numbers didn't do it for me but the rockier tracks make for a fun listen. Overall wasn't something I'd see myself returning to, but wasn't off-putting either.

No idea why this is on must listen to, it was entirely average? Maybe the average of today is so much higher than the average of yesteryear?

Undistinguishable from many rock albums of previous times. And that's in 2004! But it's tolerable to listen to.

"Who Killed ... The Zutons?"
While the cheesy cover had previously kept me from checking out The Zutons, you can safely call that question a red herring. They continue to do whatever they want and manage to combine a wide variety of styles without the album ever feeling haphazard. We’ve heard much worse in this project!
There aren’t any real killer tracks, but there’s always something. Oh, and don’t let Austin Powers design your album covers!

This was a reasonable enough listen, and I can see how something as swampy as this would have stood out amongst the wave of indie landfill and straight-ahead garage rock revival stuff that had begun rearing its head at the time, even if it does wear its influences quite loudly on its sleeve. There's more than a few hints of The La's and The Coral to be found here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Despite that, there's a strange bluesy, soul-funk flavour on offer here to differentiate it enough, and the interplay between the vocals, which often have a slightly gritty and unhinged quality to them, and the saxophone lends this album a driving presence. It's fun and unapologetically catchy, but I'm not entirely sure it's an essential listen in today's landscape, and its veneer does wear off a bit towards the second half where it begins to feel formulaic to an extent.

It sounds of its era now, but aged better than a lot of stuff from this time.

Solid 3

I genuinely loved this.
This isn’t groundbreaking or challenging, but poppy fun has it’s place. I was honestly ready to hate this, but every track had me entertained.

Imagine having a band that produced one of the biggest one hit wonders (thanks Amy Winehouse for the help) and you put an album without that song on the list!

This was so boring, I'm sorry

2 ⭐️

I was hooked immediately from the opening chords.

If I was feeling generous, I would say the music is serviceable and it was nice to hear some sax thrown in to the compositions. But those vocals and lyrics are awful. Sorry, but I have not heard anyone mention The Zutons since the mid-2000s; why have so many great albums been omitted from your list for this?

Hugely irritated by them at the time. This seems alright though.

22 years old. I absolutely loved Who Killed...... The Zutons? growing up. It’s a fun, fast-paced album full of energy and personality, and I also had a huge crush on the sax player back in the day! I was really looking forward to revisiting this one as it’s not an album I return to very often anymore.

Listening back now, I still really love this album. The music is energetic and full of character, while the lyrics and storytelling are playful, quirky and really engaging. There’s a rawness and charm to The Zutons that makes the whole album feel lively and different from a lot of indie bands around at the time. It’s one of those albums that never takes itself too seriously and is all the better for it.

Favourite tracks: “You Will You Won’t”, “Confusion” and “Remember Me”
Least favourite tracks: Every song earns its place on the album
Album artwork: Cool album cover, almost comic strip-like with loads going on visually

It's a pleasant listen.

Listenable