Released on 03/04/06
Label: Deltasonic

Despite having no discernable selling point - do you know the names of any of the band, could you recount their finest moments, would you, in short, kill for this group - The Zutons are a band now wielding some considerable clout. As they return with new album, "Tired Of Hangin' Around", which has been produced by esteemed knob-twiddler Stephen Street, who's been around so long he worked with The Smiths, some of us are surely still struggling to get it.

Clearly, they have one key asset - and it's not the saxophone, rather Abi Harding, the all-round stunner who's playing it - but beyond the occasional parping and shouty backing vocals, you have to wonder exactly why they shoehorn her into the group. Elsewhere, this really is business as usual. A rambunctious flurry of stomping guitar licks and a tune that attempts to mould knockabout Britpop to some sort of bastard Ska soul melee.

If you're a fan of The Zutons you're probably going to love it. For the rest of us, this is as obvious and recycled as the subject matter at the core of "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?"

    by Ben Gilbert