Album by The Zutons

There’s a really unique sound running through The Big Decider. The Zutons bounce around indie rock, funk, soul, disco, psychedelic pop, 70s pop and even a little country-rock to create these unique little gems.

I hear Paul McCartney and Wings in the melodic rock and playful arrangements. There’s Earth, Wind & Fire and KC and the Sunshine Band in the funk and danceable grooves. Some of the psychedelic moments remind me of Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, while the arrangements occasionally have that sophisticated Burt Bacharach quality where the melody seems to rise, fall and expand in unexpected ways.

Some songs make you want to dance. Others are dreamy, spacey and completely strange. There are horns, saxophones, big guitar sounds, layered vocals and grooves that seem to come from several different decades at once.

“Creeping on the Dancefloor” is just a party. It sounds like the grandchild of “Play That Funky Music,” with a great little guitar riff and bass line kicking things off. It’s funky, ridiculously fun and the kind of song that lets you know you’re about to go on a really fun ride.

There’s a lazy bounce to “Pauline” that makes you want to move. I love the way the groove just hangs there, and the blazing guitar solo at the end puts a smile on my face.

“Water” takes that relaxed feeling somewhere much stranger. It’s dreamy, spacey and slightly trippy, with a great groove underneath it. The whole song feels like cleansing and rejuvenation.

“In Your Arms” moves into more laid-back pop-rock with a little of that hazy, trippy quality. It leaves the funk and psychedelia behind and settles into something warmer and more straightforward. The song feels like a simple message of love, warmth and comfort.

“Disappear” is where the album really starts taking a trip. It begins almost like pop with a little country flavor around the edges, but the psychedelic elements gradually become more prominent. Around the halfway point, the whole thing shifts. The song becomes dreamy and trippy, with saxophone and almost jazzy textures, before the bass takes over and everything starts heading somewhere completely different. By the end, the song has basically taken off into outer space, as if searching for answers.

“Company” floats along in a hazy psychedelic space before the guitars gradually pull it toward indie rock. There’s a fantastic saxophone running through it, and the combination of psychedelia and indie-pop guitar grooves gives the song a really unusual texture.

The song feels like it’s reaching for emotional connection and security. There’s a sense of needing other people, needing each other, and maybe realizing that we can’t get through everything alone.

By the time “The Big Decider” arrives, the album suddenly sounds huge and bright. This is the big song of the record for me. The melody and hook are fantastic. Everything is working. It’s a hit song.

I also love the vocal arrangement, especially the way Abi Harding’s vocals come in alongside Dave McCabe. I’ve always loved when a band does that.

The song itself feels like it’s about reaching one of those moments in life where you have to decide which direction you’re going to take.

“Rise” has a completely different kind of brightness. It’s 70s melodic pop with some of the softer qualities of power pop. I hear a little Hall & Oates in this one.

It’s a beautiful, uplifting song, and the message feels like a call for people to lower their defenses and let people in. There’s a sense that connection is the only way any of us are going to get through this.

The album closes with “Best of Me,” which has another 70s flavor. There’s something interesting happening with the perspective here, too. So much of the album feels like it’s following one person working through uncertainty, asking questions and being faced with life-changing decisions. Here, it feels less like searching for something and more like realizing what you can give to someone else.

And the music makes the whole thing feel good. Warm, uplifting and incredibly easy to settle into.

The Big Decider is just a really fun album. It’s strange in places, incredibly catchy in others, and constantly finding another sound to throw into the mix. The Zutons take all of these different pieces and somehow make them feel like they belong together.

There isn’t a song here that I would ever want to skip.

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