This a review of the newish Zutons album. The Zutons have a style that reminds me of something from about 10 years ago. There style is quirky in comparison with other mainstream bands these days, but almost all of their songs show an underlying talent for song-writing.

Confusion and You will you won't, the most publicised songs, both deserve the merits they have gained. Confusion is a slower, higher tone song than the others, but its country/blues influence gives it a memorable and effective rhythm. You will, you won't is a good example of the quirky style of the band, with a powerful chorus that runs into a complete tune with little low points.

Some other highlights of the album include Zuton Fever and Havana Gang Brawl. Zuton Fever opens with an immense guitar solo, which while simple is design, has a slight psychadelic ring to it that flows through the body. This psychadelic tone has hints throughout the song and compliments the lyrics perfectly. Havana Gang Brawl is a great song, with a kind of sing-along chorus (not in a bad way) and slightly upbeat underlying instrumental tone.

Despite these high points, some songs let the album down, such as railroad and nightmare part 2. While these songs have some good ideas, they occasionally display rambling lyrics that show no purpose and can disengage the listener. This is a similar point to one that devalues the Razorlight album.

Also, some songs could be criticised for repetitive lyrics, but I feel it is a matter of opinion whether these add or lessen the quality of these songs.

In general, Who killed the Zutons? is probably the second best album of 2004 in my opinion. If you like bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Snow patrol you will be able to appreciate the quirkiness that makes this album unique. It isn't for every one and people at the extremes of the musical scale may not be attracted by the slightly strange style.

Thanks for reading!

mmm interesting, and I was just going to buy this album at lunchtime, thank you for your thoughts!

I agree with a few of the songs not being too great (e.g Railroad), but after seeing them live twice I still love them. They're great live, although a little too short on songs as their encore was just them jamming. Still a great album to buy though!