The Zutons

The Zuton’s frontman David McCabe often tootles song melodies on his instrument of choice, the melodica. These tones are usually accompanied by bracing blasts from his second-in-command, saxophonist Abi Harding. For a while, the band adorned itself in the kitschy retro wear of filmdom, circa the pre-talkie, black-and-white era, with McCabe sporting a cape, handlebar moustache and Dr. Caligari-ish top hat. The band’s lyrics reference classic sci-fi and horror flicks, while the music rides choppy R&B waves sur½ng straight out of the Stateside ’60s. So just who—or what, exactly—are Liverpool’s zany Zutons?

Well, they were named for an old Captain Beefheart lyric, allows McCabe over a bleary-eyed breakfast. The first song on the group’s oddly self-deprecating debut, Who Killed The Zutons?, promises to give listeners “Zuton Fever.” Which is

McCabe shrugs. “We don’t know whatever ‘art school’ movement is kicking off in Britain at the moment, because we’re not art school,” he swears in a rather quirky confession. “I’m just a simple musician who couldn’t get a job that I liked for a few years, so luckily I got a record deal instead. … I think there are definitely a few more albums in us, albums that people will either really love or really hate. There won’t be any easy middle ground.”