Zutons, The - You Can Do Anything (Album)
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The Zutons released their third album, You Can Do Anything, back in June in the UK. It reached number 6 on some kind of music chart, though I'm having trouble understanding why it climbed that high.
The Zutons have talent. In addition to my actually having seen them and enjoying them live, they wrote what is generally considered to be a great song in Valerie. However, the majority of that talent seems to have gone on holiday for the duration of the writing and recording of this, their latest effort. None of the tracks have the jump and kick of their earlier material, although a few do come close.
The first single, Always Right Behind You is sort of dull. It's a bit boppy, very repetitive, and kinda soulless. It sounds like the theme tune to a really bad sitcom. Apparently they're going to release What's Your Problem? as the second single, which is actually a good song. It's catchy, it's upbeat, it features the sassy saxophonist, it's got a nice melody and it's structured well. It's a good pop song.
The rest of the album is pretty... meh. Look, there's nothing really wrong with the 12 songs on You Can Do Anything, they're just not particularly interesting or new or groundbreaking. I reviewed another English pop/rock band a few months ago – Dirty Pretty Things. DPT were bad. They weren't just meh, they were bleh. Boring, unoriginal, and stale. The Zutons are definitely not any of those things, and I definitely don't want you to think this is a negative review.
This is a semi-disappointing third album from a band that is capable of writing very good pop songs. The album as a whole is probably something like 3 and a half out of 5. There are one or two legitimately good songs (What's Your Problem? and Give Me A Reason) and around 10 average songs.
It's the kind of album that will really appeal to some people, utterly bore others and leave the rest sort of ambivalent. Fans will most likely like it, haters won't change their minds, and everyone else will probably forget about it after 5 minutes. Some tracks, like Family of Leeches have good moments (a nice chorus and some wicked riffage) but are overall fairly forgettable and uninteresting. The Zutons have a talent for writing songs but they are lacking whatever it is that makes them great songs, be it somewhere in the performance, the production, or in the song structure. We've seen Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson make something pretty awesome out of Valerie, surpassing The Zutons' original in all respects.
There's just something about The Zutons that stops them from being amazing and keeps their feet firmly planted in 'average pop rock' soil, and this album definitely reflects that. You Can Do Anything is one for the fans, but if you're unfamiliar with them then head on over to their MySpace and check them out; they might be just your thing.
