The Zutons

That's a big Z

You Can Do Anything

Three albums down, and it's hard to pick holes in the Zutons' philosophy.

Sure you can attack the lyrics, which are either pure genius or crayon-scrawled idiocy depending on how you look at it.

If you want to pick holes, it's the latter. If you're already seduced by the Zutons sound – stupidly enjoyable pop, psychedelia and, in this instance, more than a hint of glam rock – then you'll have no complaints.

Basically, think Scissor Sisters with better tunes and a bit of streetwise grit. The Daily Mail could use Family of Leeches as a theme tune – in which a benefit cheat is called ‘parasite’, ‘virus’, ‘tapeworm’ and ‘leper’ (and that's just the chorus) – but you could imagine the terraces picking up What's Your Problem, Bumbag? Well, if not the refrain, certainly the title.

Lead-Zuton Dave McCabe can scream with the best of them and, while there's maybe nothing with the instant appeal of Valerie (although first single Always Right Behind You comes close in its singalong, anthemic 70s style) at least this way drunk skanks won't nick the best songs for their own purposes.

We say: Grit, psychadelia, Abi on sax. What's not to like?

They say: ‘...another cast of flaky characters culled from the seedier corners of David McCabe's imagination, though the inevitable attrition means that none has quite the anthemic appeal of 'Valerie'' – The Independent

Best Track: Always Right Behind You. Mud meets Slade in the 21st Century. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to look up 'inevitable attrition' in the dictionary.

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