Following the success of their last album, 'Who Killed the Zutons?' signed to the Deltasonic label, they spawned an amazing five top 40 singles, and sold over 600,000 albums. Since then, they have forged a reputation as one of the best and most popular live acts in the country. The Zutons are made up of David McCabe (vocals/guitar), Abi Harding (saxophone), Boyan Chowdhury (guitar), Sean Payne (drums), and Russell Pritchard (bass).

David recalls his early influences, "I loved Guns 'N' Roses and other heavy metal rock bands." He continues, "When you are young, you get into music. I bought a guitar, but I was the only one that stuck with it. Everyone else just put it down and found girlfriends."

So it was the heavier guitar tracks that really got him going?"Really, Nirvana started it. I used to put that on loud and play the bass."

The band admit that when they started out they were part of the rejuvenated live scene, especially in Liverpool which at that point was centred around nightclubs like Cream. "I suppose there was a wave of bands in Liverpool at that time. I’m not saying that it was the beginning of something big because it just seems that there's a lot more bands around the country. There's a lot more bands now - that's a fact. There's a lot more bands to go to. It's a tough crowd I think. Scousers don't take easily to a lot of stuff. They won't be polite!"

For this reason, the Liverpudlian quintet seem to have acquired much press baggage. Accused of owing more to label-mates, The Coral than either band can surely have felt comfortable with, "I think before people thought we were just like the Coral but not as good," argues McCabe with refreshing candour. “It was a pain in the arse for us because we'd only been together for six months and we didn't really have a clue. Now we know exactly what we want to do, and it's like a fresh start."

So does it strike the members odd that they are commonly misconceived as being an “American” band?David: "Well, we are from Liverpool - the other side of the world. We listen to a lot of American music like Neil Young, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Talking Heads. So it's understandable."

Despite the initial press frenzy, the band have managed a big crossover movement in their second album bringing their retro-influenced rock to the scene. McCabe admits that the Zutons, "were finding our feet on the first record. Luckily, we had Ian Broudie to push us along. But this time the mood of the band has been more work-lke."With every bit of the band's success equating to hard work. Dave admits to some tensions. "It was a bit studied out by that time and I didn't really want to be there anymore." He reveals, "I'm not a massive fan of studios. We did it as quickly a possible. They can be intense sometimes, studios, I find. You're making big decisions all the time, you're saying "should we leave that on or leave that off?" No matter how you look at it and you can act like it's nothing, but in the back of your head you can know it can affect it."

With influences encompassing jazz/soul to voodoo rock, establishing an identity must have been hard?"Not really. Any band, you just put your personality into what you do. It’s not hard. It's hard if you try too hard. I think you just have to be a great band and not think about it too much. You are either good at it or not," explains David.

With so much global exposure, including criss-crossing America with The Killers, the band have discovered inspiration in some of the more ardent fans. McCabe explains, 'Valerie' and 'Oh Stacey Look What You've Done' are about two girls I met in America. They're kinda written from the perspective that you're in love with someone but from far away... but I'm not really in love," he clarifies.

Success seems to have done nothing to dampen their dark side. The first single 'Why Won't You Give Me Your Love' is an ode to the romantic art of stalking. Abi elaborates, "the new album continues the darkness."

"'Stacey' is an exaggerated story - she's going out getting drunk cause her dad died and left her loads of money."

So back to Dave, what about Valerie - do you really "miss (her) ginger hair"?He laughs, "That wasn't so serious - but it sounds big and kinda funky. It's a happy accident, that song. Most of the best tunes are ones you write quick and they don't take much hassle." A pair of stalker songs which no doubt shift from the merely creepy to the downright sinister. However, considering the songs' irresistible glam-rock-boogie vibe, it makes it hard to dislike.

With the band fronting some extremely catchy tunes, presumably, at times, shifting to new melodies can seem a hard task?"I really just get onto the next song. That's just what happens. I suppose it's because it's been in my head, and then once I work it out with the band, I forget about it. I think the idea is to put it into other people's heads. But it gets out of my head because it had been there for so long. You know what I’m saying? It's been there for so long I have to get it out and into someone else's - I'm just passing the buck, I guess," David laughs.

The months of gigging have clearly served The Zutons well, moulding them into a steelier unit. There was obviously no room for breaks explains Abi, "we would have liked to have taken a break but we didn't write on the road so we had to sit down and write an album's worth of material from scratch." She adds, "... we would have liked a week off but we wanted to get back into the studio."

Living on a tour bus must be weird and enclosed at times. David suggests, "you have to think, 'I'm in Anaheim, California' and some of my friends are working in factories at home. It's a good job, but it is a job."

So how did the album get it’s title?"We got sick of just writing songs and not doing much, we wanted to get back out on the road and the phrase 'Tired of Hanging Around' sums up the way the band were feeling." This also emerges as one of the tracks.

So does Abi have a favourite track from the new album?"I think 'How Does It Feel' because it's completely different from anything we have done before, the backing harmonies are very strong and its got a good groove to it."

It's clear that with other tracks including the sublime jaunt of 'Valerie', the Scousers have taken the time to refine their sound. McCabe points out, "we know how to put ourselves across better and know how to put our feelings across. It's a lot harder and a lot more soulful." He continues, "we wanted to make this album more like a live album." The band have demonstrated amongst other things a spectacular rawness to their style.

As for the current trend for angular guitar bands in skinny drainpipe jeans, it’s not something Dave cares much for. "All that disco beat stuff, it does my head in. What's all that about? I think Franz Ferdinand and the Strokes nailed that one. Interpol, I suppose, were good at it as well, but I think that was enough. There's no need for all the other bands that are coming out now."

On the subject of other bands, the Zutons were one of the many gazillion that played at the recent South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. An event that is swamped with wannabe rock stars desperate to get the attention of the music industry and for the British in particular, it's a chance to make waves on the notoriously difficult American market. "There's a lot of bands at South By Southwest and there's too much going on. It's not a festival. It's like two streets full of thousands of people and twelve hundred bands or something. It was just hard work," recalls frontman Dave McCabe.

The hard work has certainly paid off. McCabe excitedly reveals what is was like touring alongside the likes of legends U2 and R.E.M, "We were like, 'Yes, this is what we’ve been building up for!' And there was no pressure on because it was REM's crowd." David reminisces, "They’re not waiting for 'Losing My Religion' from us. But we can impress them in the meantime, with our own little songs." It's clear amongst many things including the eclectic carnival of brilliance, McCabe's belting vocals, and slinky saxophonist Abi has helped the band to create a fresh mark. David explains, "We wanted to cross jazz with funk, and soul with country. We just wanted to mix everything together and get every angle on it and finally we've got there."

How have things changed for them in the past two years?"I think I’ve become a lovely person," replies Dave, tongue in cheek. "To be honest, I feel people are changing around me and other people that I'm meeting, whether it's for better or worse. It's just like people who were once alright with you, look at you in a different way and I don't know what to think." The band have proved a lot, yet David admits the process was somewhat awkward at times, "sometimes it's just a bit weird. It’s like "why are you looking at me like that?" And these are people you've known all your life. That’s when it hits home that you've done something well for yourself."

So it must have been scary and enclosed at times?"Sometimes, being in a band is like standing half-naked on the top of a mountain and people throw either roses or daggers at you. That’s what it's like being in a band. You have to have a laugh and have a good time."

For the Zutons, amidst unmistakeable swampy rhythms, vivid lyrical wit, muscular pop and jump-around anthems, it seems the hanging around certainly pays off. With the studio toil done, the band can get back to what they do best, playing live. "It toughens you up, playing all those gigs," muses McCabe. He adds, "I can't relax in one place any more. I think that’s gonna be with me all my life."

Which brings us to the future and any upcoming plans?"Just waking up in the morning with a beautiful girl next to me with a yacht in the south of France, it seems that's what everyone else is doing," says Dave. "On a serious note though, just being on tour again and getting into it. It's good to do Top Of The Pops and that, but it's more real isn't it when you’re playing live. No disrespect to anyone, but that is what it's all about really." Indeed it is.

"You just live your life. I live my life as days and not days in the Zutons. The Zutons are just a part of life, now. If you think too much, you can lose your head. I'm a thinker and a dreamer, I'm not a nothing person that doesn’t think about things. I think it would be easier if you didn't think about stuff. Life would be easier."

THE ALBUM 'TIRED OF HANGIN' AROUND' IS AVAILABLE NOW. CATCH THEM AT THE 02 WIRELESS FESTIVAL IN LEEDS, T IN THE PARK AND CREAMFIELDS