Who Killed…… The Zutons

I was not looking forward to this at all. I felt like I knew what it would be just from the cover, the terrible band name, and the Wikipedia snippet clipped here.

Suspicions confirmed. Got to track six.

I bet this sucks.

Perfectly fine.

"Who Killed Captain Alex?" of music.

Favorite songs: Zuton Fever, You Will You Won't, Railroad

Least favorite songs: Havana Gang Brawl

3/5

I liked this. Fun mix of styles, but I’m not sure this is really essential listening. Favorites were Zuton Fever, Pressure Point, Long Time Coming, and Remember Me.

I didn't find this to be too bad, pretty good British indie rock.

I haven’t heard this one in years, loved it when it originally came out and really enjoyed revisiting it today. There’s not one song on this one that I didn’t enjoy.

Top Track - Remember Me

Revivals don't always showcase creativity, especially revivals of revivals, since that's what The Zutons are: a horn-heavy revival of The La's who were reviving The Beatles, etc. It's not just the Liverpool connection, tho that's apparent. It's the pop outlook, the refusal to be conceptual tho not opposed to storytelling, a deepness that's not deep but merely for fun. In other words, The Zutons manage a creative revival, I'm happy to say. Dave McCabe's vocals are slightly tinged w/ pseudo-soul, but he's a pleasurable reminder of Alex Chilton w/ The Boxtops, the instrumentation variegates, the songwriting even echoes Lead Belly. 'Oh where will you sleep tonight.' It's not the greatest thing ever, but I'll take them over the Arctic Monkeys.

The first listen was very fun. Zuton Fever is an instant earworm and sets up the vibe of the album pretty well - a kind of wacky vibe that's also present in the cover art. I liked that every song feels very different from one another, while staying coherent with the sound of the band.
Unfortunately a lot of the weirdness and wackiness that was fun and interesting the first time around, got real old on further listens. I found myself skipping a lot. It's a tough one to review then, because I truly enjoyed it a lot at the beginning.

Standouts: Zuton Fever • Havana Gang Brawl • Not A Lot To Do

When I saw this was a Liverpudlian band from 2004 that's been removed from the 1001, I immediately figured it was going to be another boring Britpop band - instead I was pleasantly surprised: this was a fun album! I can't say any of it is super-original, but I found myself smiling and bopping along throughout. Would definitely revisit. Favorite tracks: Zuton Fever (I like the 60s horror campy style), Pressure Point (very-Black Keys-ish, who were contemporaries), You Will You Won't (very cool track), Long Time Coming, Dirty Dancehall.

An interesting listen, plenty of variety. 'Nice' probably covers it but surprised it's in the 1001 albums we must hear.

It’s fine, nothing to write home about. I don’t think I’ll ever listen to this again, it was just kind of bland pop rock. Plus one for horns.

Quite good. I’d really love to give this a 3.5. Never heard of this band, but it’s very unique and really listenable.

I’m really kind of struggling with my rating system at the moment, because 3 is “fine” and 4 is “really good,” but there are loads of albums that are just good, you know? So if 3 is a baseline rating of albums I merely don’t dislike, and 4 is the rating for albums that I *really* like, then where do I go with albums like this, where I’d be more than happy to listen to it again, but I more than likely won’t seek it out?

A great debut from a fun live band … I liked it, but not sure it’s stood the time test. A solid 3 from me.

I like this more than I expected. There's nothing innovative in it but it has a real charm in how it's done.

Another UK-centric entry. Bands like Franz Ferdinand did it better in that era. Enjoyable enough, but not outstanding, 3*

Some well crafted songs. I don't consider this essential, but I have no beef with The Zutons.

Quite forgettable

This is about as mid as I remember them being at the time. Not terrible, but also not essential listening in any way. I think it was Amy Winehouse who killed the Zutons, when she did a much better version of their best song!