The Zebras

On first blush, this sounds like the latest gorgeous, jangly guitar pop record from somewhere north of Manchester. Belle and Sebastian meet the better moments of the Lightning Seeds, with Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame strumming away. But on closer listening there's a certain local twang to both the voices and the music on the second production from this unheralded Brisbane six-piece. There's nary a foot, or a note, wrong on this, and the Zebras can lay claim to being, if not the heirs, then at least the love child of the Go-Betweens. Loaded with hooks and soaked with harmonies, Worry A Lot is the perfect laid-back lovely thing to listen to during this earliest of summers. The stripped back production suits the sound and these small but perfectly formed songs hit the spot in a quite delightful way. If there's a smidgen of a quibble it's that some of the tracks are too brief, with the whole effort clocking in at a sharp 35 minutes. Still nothing quite like wanting more, is there? - The Australian