The Zutons - 'Don't Ever Think' (Deltasonic)
4/5
By: Laure James
Importing hand-claps and jive saxophone from ska, merging the most infectious of indie-pop, sing-along choruses, countrified chord progressions and knotting, explosive funk... Yes, The Zutons remain barmy.
'Do you remember when you were young?/Do you remember what your mother said?' The signature chorus lyric proves that The Zutons clearly remember their musical youth and pay homage to almost every influential genre they've encountered. And the band join singer Dave McCabe in chortling 'Don't ever think, ever think, ever think too much', slyly voicing what must be a promotion of creative thought, despite the tiring consequences. McCabe's pre-occupied mind results in him 'lying in my burnt out bed... I'm thinking again... It's just the thinking I don't understand,' but the intelligent, satirical lyricism suggests that this band aren't going to plasticize and manufacture themselves as one-dimensional, lightweight no-brainers any time soon.
Nope - no chance of that. The playful, multi-instrumented backing is reminiscent of Belle & Sebastian's sunnier album breaks/singles - 'Step Into My Office Baby', or the colourful 'Legal Man'. They're modern painters who are inventively challenging past, lazy and unflattering comparisons with Deltasonic housemates and fellow Liverpudlians, The Coral. McCabe is 'Standing on the edge of the cliff/And thinking it through my mind/I'm afraid that I'm about to slip/Cause my body is outta time,' and it's irreverent, off-the-wall yet accessible sentiments such as these that bring them into the limelight of universal classic pop appeal.
The Zutons could easily opt for intrinsic, complicated Rubix cube indie, but if 'Don't Ever...' is any indication whatsoever of the flight intended for a second LP, there are many more diverse opportunities still in the offing. They're reaping the benefits of entertaining an inquisitive mind at all hours - even if it does result in insomnia and backache. And it couldn't have been done in a more rewarding or entertaining fashion.
Artists in this article: The Zutons
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