The Cosmic Scouse Bandwagon shows no signs of stopping and tonight it's THE ZUTONS' turn to take hold of the reins and steer us through a maze of their psychedelic, folk country rock/jazz offerings from the North West Coast.
Forget the lazy armchair view doing the rounds that The Zutons are a poor man's version of The Coral because it's a lie. For those still unsure, check out new single"Creepin an' a crawlin" for undeniable proof that although both bands share a label and similar beginings, they are riding off in different directions.
Tonight they display the introspection and intensity, the howlin' and the screechin' Maddog McCabe leading his posse of crack compadres forward, armed with only some of the coolest sounds in the territory.
The Songs move between the late sixties psychedelica of The Doors and Arthur Lee and Love to the upbeat country rock of The Flying Burritto Brothers to the acoustic driven folk n' beat of new single "Creepin an' a crawlin", introduced tonight as "sleepin' an a snorin." Maybe the band are tiring after what has been a year spent on the road! The B side "Ramblin' Man" may be even
better, with McCabe continuing his fascination with railroad tracks and the cowboy mind and a beautiful outro.
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There are no signs of tiredness tonight, the band groove around the stage, nodding feverishly to each other, feeding their own frenzy and culminating in the show stopping finale that is
"Zutonfever". It's a remarkable tune showcasing their almost Zappa-esque talent for bypassing the simple when the ridiculous will do just fine.
It's a great performance, the band exuding confidence from every note. They don't play anything from their debut release 'Devil's Deal", in fact the set is largely different from when I last saw them, which was only two months ago! None of which matters because each song is a good song and a great album to - satisfy the preference of all- is coming soon, Mercury Prize behold!
Next stop will be the Midsummers day Spectacular alongside their Deltasonic label mates under a Big Top in New Brighton, so saddle up the horses, put on the leather chaps, round up your mates and ride on down to the peninsula but watch out for the Zuton Fever!
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