Then, barely visible, emerges the tiny figure of saxophonist Abi Harding. A part of you wants to ask the rest of the lads to go off and play a quick game of three-and-in so Abi can conduct the interview on her own but this is work and the lads are well used to all the attention she gets as the 'stylish' member of the band.

I'm sure her boyfriend, drummer Sean Payne (not the Munster full back), is well used to it. "The lads treat me like their sister, " she says, laughing. "And I love all the attention.

A few months ago there was another girl on the tour bus and I found it really uncomfortable. I wanted all the attention."

Anyway, back to work. The five Zutons have been trimmed to three for our purposes, with guitarist Boyan Chowdhury and bassist Russell Pritchard joining Abi to talk about life as Liverpool's brightest new(ish) band.

The success of 2004's debut Who Killed The Zutons? brought the Liverpudlians huge commercial and critical acclaim. Five singles charted in the UK top 40, with 'You Will You Won't' being one of the year's most memorable songs. Then the band was nominated for that year's Mercury Music Prize.

Did they rest on their laurels and lap up the praise? No chance. They toured and toured and toured some more. "We work really, really hard, " says Pritchard as he tries to look at you through his fringe. And you believe him.

Gone it seems are the constant comparisons with Liverpool's illustrious musical past, as is the pressure of recording a follow up, the notorious 'difficult second album syndrome'.

"There was no pressure really, " he says. "Being from Liverpool always brings its own set of preconceptions but I think that was when we were less well known. Now that we have established ourselves there is no pressure to be anything other than ourselves which is great."

And being constantly referred to in the same breath as The Coral, has that also gone away? "Yeah, it's natural for that to happen and because we are friends with them people started to talk about a scene. And in Liverpool there is a certain amount of jealousy."

And a bit of traditional Irish-style begrudgery? "Yeah there can be a bit of that too but we love Liverpool and spend time there whenever we can. The thing is it wasn't overnight success for us. We had been going a few years and building up a really strong fanbase through our live shows, so when we got the [Mercury Music Prize] nomination it was a lovely surprise, but we didn't really read too much into it. Obviously it brings you up a level in terms of critical analysis and people do take a closer look at you but we are just enjoying the experience."

The Zutons formed in mid 2002 as a four piece. A few months later Harding joined on saxophone. Their debut release . . . 'Devil's Deal' . . . appeared in September of the same year and was followed in May 2003 by 'Creepin' An' A Crawlin''. They then spent the latter half of 2003 recording their debut with Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds on production.

The band admit they were still experimenting with their sound on the first album and wanted to try to capture the live feel on Tired of Hangin' Around. "That's where Stephen Street was so good, " says Pritchard.

"We tried a couple of producers before we got to Stephen. He was great. He let us go with our own instincts and we were proved right.

It was a really straightforward recording because we had all the songs worked out before we went into the studio, so we just laid them all down in a couple of months."

Many of the songs were written on the American leg of their last tour in support of The Killers. "America was really funny, " says Chowdhury. "Some of the crowds we get there just look at us and wonder what it's all about and the ones who do get it just start dancing. I remember reading a piece about U2 and Echo and the Bunnymen touring America in the 1980s and Ian McCulloch reckoned American audiences just weren't getting it so he decided to go home. U2 decided to stay and look what happenedf."

After the five went home to Liverpool, they rented a space and worked out the songs that had come to them on the road. The result is a heavier-sounding record that is built for even more touring.

They recorded it in London's famed Rak studios with Street at the end of last year.

Songs such as 'Valerie' and 'Oh Stacey Look What You've Done' are about two girls McCabe met in America . . . big funky pop tunes that were written in 10 minutes. I don't say it, but sometimes they sound it.

In its defence, the album reflects the band's light-hearted approach to making music;

The Zutons are nothing if not a good-time band . . . the soundtrack to a summer of drinking, shagging, dancing and feeling guilty about it all.

In this respect, The Zutons are the quintessential Catholic scousers, bringing humour and soul to what are often quite ordinary songs.

The album's opener and title track is pure Zutons. "These should be the best days of your life/ But you've worried all the goodness away/ And these should be the moments we remember the most/ But we haven't got the patience todayf." It's a bit of light fun with a great sing-along chorus and is neatly followed up with 'It's The Little Things We Do' . . .

another slice of frivolous nonsense about the pain of the day after the night before. "As your hangover unfolds/ And the questions will arrive/ Why do I feel like death just for having a good time?" It may be lyrically clumsy, but you can just picture it going down a dream during the summer's festival circuit, even if no dates have been confirmed yet.

The album's standout track is 'You've Got A Friend In Me', a sleek little call and repeat blues number between McCabe and Harding.

Listening to it you wonder why she doesn't sing more.

I really want to ask her but those hairy guys just keep hangin' around.