The hard-rocking Liverpudlian quintet are back with their liveliest, ballsiest, most in-your-face album yet, crammed with a spankingly good set of infectious riffs and sardonically chirpy lyrics that’ll get you hooked.
From the super-catchy ‘Valerie’ to the even catchier ‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love?’, ‘Tired of Hanging Around’ is, according to frontman Dave McCabe, ‘the new dirty dancehall’.
Fused catches up with bassist Russ McCabe.
What have you been up to since Who Killed the Zutons?
We stopped touring at the start of last year ‘cos we wanted to keep it free for writing and didn’t really like doing it on the road. We did a few festivals but then we went straight into the studio and finished our new album in October so it was pretty quick really. We got together with Stephen Street to produce it and he’s really into what we’re doing, plus we’ve all written a few B-sides on this one which is good.
Who inspires you as a bass player?
Well I know it sounds dead cheesy but I think it’s mostly that I’m really into my music, especially jazz at the moment. I think it can have a really positive effect on people, even if you’re only a beginner - you don’t have to be really good to get a lot out of it. To do it at this level feels weird but great. I’ve been brought up on it too, me Mum used to listen to a lot of Bob Dylan and me Dad was really into rock music. Actually, the first gig I went to was AC/DC!
What sort of music inspires the band as a whole?
We’ve all got pretty good musical heritage really, mostly from our families. We like bands that sound honest and organic. You can see through a lot of these bands that are out at the moment and you know they’re just riding on the crest of a wave, but bands like the Arctic Monkeys are good because they just do what they do and it sounds honest.
Tell me about your new album ‘Tired of Hanging Around’.
It’s a lot more lively sounding than ‘Who Killed the Zutons’. We’ve progressed into something together and had one set of ideas for this album, so it’s a lot more together sounding and a lot more rocking. Our feelings come across a lot better in this one.
Why’s it called Tired of Hanging Around? Have you got very short attention spans?
Yeah, there is a bit of that in the band! Well it’s one of our song titles and we just decided to go with it, it has positive and negative meanings, like ‘tired of hanging around’ is a negative feeling that comes across on the album, whereas a lot of the songs carry the idea of ‘well, I’ll get up and do something about it’ which is positive.
Do you think there’s a new wave of Britpop flooding the US again like in the early 90s? Do Americans get your music?
I don’t know if there’s a movement at the moment although that’s what people tend to label it as. It’d be good to have some sell-out shows in the US. Every country you tour it’s like having a fresh start, but I think for our music to be accessible to the US we need some good radio songs, which we’ve got on ‘Tired of Hanging Around’.
What festivals are you doing this year?
Loads, we’re doing a big UK tour in May then Cold Shower in LA, Fugi in Japan and over here we’re doing T in the Park, Creamfields and Wireless, and we’re supporting The Who on a few of their dates which should be good fun!
It must be stressful promoting the new album - how do you chill out?
Actually I’ve started going to the spa and the steam room in the hotel we’re in at the moment. I feel like I’m being a bit healthier ’cos I smoke and that’s bad, though I do keep trying to give up. It’s hard to be healthy on the road ‘cos you’re eating late or living on junk food! I love playing footie too and I got a new iPod for Christmas which does help me relax. I’m listening to some Beatles sessions at the moment called ‘Turn Me On’, which is great.
Tired of Hanging Around is out now.
Words: Lara Page
Image: Paulo Arraiano