Who Killed the Zutons?

Who Killed...... The Zutons? is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Zutons, released via Deltasonic on 19 April 2004.

Background and recording

The Zutons formed in early 2002; their line-up initially consisted of Dave McCabe on vocals and guitar, Boyan Chowdhury on guitar, Russell Pritchard on bass and Sean Payne on drums, with Abi Harding joining them sometime later on saxophone. They signed to Deltasonic, who were known for releasing the work of the Coral. "Devil's Deal", the Zuton's debut single, appeared in September 2002, and was followed up by "Creepin' an' a Crawlin in May 2003. For their debut album, they worked with producer Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds, who had previously worked with the Coral. Jon Gray served as engineer; the bulk of the tracks were recorded at RAK Studios in London, while "You Will You Won't" and "Long Time Coming" were done at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool. Most of the songs were mixed at Elevator Studios in Liverpool, except for "Confusion", "Railroad" and "Remember Me", which were done at RAK. Ted Jensen then mastered the album at Sterling Sound at New York City. AllMusic reviewer Jason Damas compared the band's sound to that of their labelmates the Coral, "from their Love/Animals-influenced ruckus down to their Scouse accents". Gareth Gobson of Drowned in Sound thought that as the Zutons had a "decidedly darker heart than their current Liverpudlian peers", he considered a comparison to brothers John and Michael Head of Shack was more appropriate. Blender Jody Rosen said they merged a "hodgepodge of influences (Dr. John, old-ska, trashy ’60s garage rock, Johnny Cash) with goofy B-movie atmosphere, then turn up the fuzztones". "Pressure Point" is a garage boogie track, The song's saxophone part was initially planned to be played on guitar until it was changed.

"Havana Gang Brawl" has Scouse-tinged jangly guitarwork, and was reminiscent of Dire Straits. "Railroad" describes a woman being sent a love letter from her immigrant-working partner. "Long Time Coming" is a guitar pop song that comes across as a mix of the Coral and Franz Ferdinand, "Nightmare Part II" is about having a fever dream. Entertainment Weekly writer Timothy Gunatilaka said Harding's "soulful fluttering adds a delicate beauty" to "Not a Lot to Do", In March 2004, the band toured as part of the NME Brat Pack Tour Who Killed...... The Zutons? was released on 19 April 2004 through Deltasonic. and then with a UK tour that lasted until May 2004 with support from the Dead 60s. The last two shows were cancelled after Payne was taken to hospital after breaking his fingers. At the end of the month, the band went on a brief Japanese tour with Paul Maguire, formerly of the Stairs filling in, alongside the Bandits. The two cancelled shows were rescheduled for the following month, surrounding the release of "Remember Me" on 21 June 2004.

Shortly after this, the band performed at the Glastonbury Festival. In October 2004, the band embarked on a tour of the UK. The last four shows were postponed as Payne had come down with a viral infection. Coinciding with this, "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)" was released as a single on 4 October 2004. The US edition of the album, released 19 October 2004, They then supported the Killers on their US tour, which included a one-off headlining show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In December 2004, the band went on a short tour, with all of the postponed shows from earlier, culminating in two shows at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. In the midst of this, they supported Muse for two shows at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. Harding was unable to join the Zutons for the Ireland dates on the trek as she has been diagnosed with sinusitis. "Confusion" was released as a single on 13 December 2004. In February 2005, the band embarked on a tour of the US; the following month, they played a short, four-date tour of the UK. In June and July 2005, the band supported R.E.M. on their headlining stadium tour of the UK. The Zutons pulled out of the Hyde Park, London date of the trek, and were replaced by Johnathan Rice and Feeder.

Reception

Who Killed...... The Zutons? was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on 15 reviews.

Several critics gave comparisons to the Coral. God Is in the TV Alex Worsnip opened his review by remarking that the Zutons were the "first Coral tribute band" as the tracks "really could be mistaken by anyone for The Coral", from the instrumentation to McCabe's vocals. The Boston Phoenix writer Mikael Wood said the Zutons and the Coral had a shared sound, as they "view their loose, seemingly improvisational rock as a vessel to fill with whatever strikes their fancy". Damas said that it still "sounds like a lost Coral album down to every last detail, which means that it seems silly to venture here unless you've at least bought one Coral album already". Simpson thought the Zutons were "if anything, more demented" than the Coral; Stephen Ackroyd of DIY dismissed the Coral comparison, saying that despite sharing the same record label and hometown, the similarities ended there. He said that the Zutons were "twice as vital as Skelley and co, and that's one hell of a claim", adding that they were "much darker than any of their contemporaries".

Who Killed...... The Zutons charted at number six in the UK,

Track listing

All songs written by Dave McCabe and the Zutons, except "Railroad" by McCabe, Sean Payne and the Zutons.

The Zutons

Dave McCabe – vocals, guitar
Boyan Chowdhury – guitar
Russell Pritchard – bass guitar
Sean Payne – drums
Abi Harding – saxophone

Additional musicians

Prabjote Osahn – arranger, strings
Stella Page – strings
Amanda Drummond – strings
Isabelle Dunn – strings

Production and design

Ian Broudie – producer (all except "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)")
Liam Watson – producer ("Don't Ever Think (Too Much)"), engineer ("Don't Ever Think (Too Much)")
Jon Gray – engineer (all except "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)")
Ted Jensen – mastering (all except "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)")
Noel Summerville – mastering ("Don't Ever Think (Too Much)")
Juno – art direction, design
Sam Jones – photograph

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Chart performance for Who Killed... The Zutons?

! scope="col"| Chart (2004–2005)

! scope="col"| Peak position

! scope="row"| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)

| 34

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Year-end chart performance for Who Killed...... The Zutons?

! scope="col"| Chart (2004)

! scope="col"| Position

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 46

! scope="col"| Chart (2005)

! scope="col"| Position

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 137

Certifications

References

External links

Who Killed The Zutons? at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
Live review from April 2004 at Drowned in Sound
Review at Trouser Press
Review at IGN