Biography: The Zutons

By Linnie Rawlinson for CNN

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Formed in 2001, Liverpool fivesome The Zutons serve up an LSD-laced, vodka-and-Red-Bull-fueled musical cocktail and their infectious eclecticism and big fat riffs have seen the band romp to the top of the British alternative scene.

Their Mercury-nominated debut album, "Who Killed The Zutons" (2004) made the UK top 10 and its multi-layered indie anthems, including "Pressure Point" and "You will, you won't," brought inevitable comparisons with fellow Merseysiders The Coral.

The follow-up, "Tired of Hanging Around" (2006) cemented the Scousers' reputation for psychedelic party pieces, with the stomptastic "Why won't you give me your love" and the sugar-spun ballad to a red-haired heartbreaker, "Valerie".

Their reputation for legendary live performances has gained them support slots with U2, REM and Oasis. Singer, guitarist and songwriter David McCabe describes their sound as "soul-funk-voodoo-vibe", and their jangling punk-funk has given Scouse pop an exotic shot in the arm.

Gravel-voiced McCabe, sounding like a young, pumped-up Tom Waites, is backed by the leggy saxmeister Abi Harding and a trio of messy mop-tops on guitars and percussion.

Their magpie influences, from Captain Beefheart to Sly and the Family Stone, stitch a musical coat of many colors which sits somewhere between Frank Zappa, Gorky's Zygotic Mynki and Space.

Sometimes funny, sometimes dark, their songs take in stalking, drinking and dirty secrets, set against a backdrop of urban ennui, all wrapped up in a post-session layer of hangover grime.

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