The Good Ship Recovery: The Zutons - Who Killed The Zutons

We all forget about the older stuff from time to time, in our quest to stay up to speed with the latest and greatest. But one should always respect their elders. So don’t forget about them, y’hear?

It's hard to believe this record is approaching it's tenth birthday, really. A collection of wonderfully quirky, deliciously eccentric songs by Liverpool oddballs The Zutons, Who Killed The Zutons goes here, there, and everywhere, leaping from genre to genre in a single bound. It's a ridiculously fun record, mad as a hatter and not taking itself at all seriously.

Witness opener "Zuton Fever," a spaghetti western-meets sea shanty-meets 60s British Invasion number, madcap and whimsical all at once, full of frantic brass and a kicky little beat. Gears immediately shift to "Pressure Point," Northern soul reworked into a silly, funky jam. "Confusion" is a favorite, gentle strumming and a slightly more serious tone. A bit Small Faces/Kinksian, in its way.

The rollicking "Havana Gang Brawl" is a gem, infectiously lively and more than a little over the top. Shades of "The Monster Mash" flitter about in the brass, and reckless abandon prevails. That, friends, is quality. As, too, is my very favorite of all, "Moons and Horror Shows," a dreamy, kitsch, folksy ditty, lovely and romantic yet utterly Zutonian. 

All told, this one's definitely worth checking out if you missed it back in 2004, back when Liverpool was It for a moment and when it was hip to be obtuse.