Zeus, the new EP by British Sea Power, occasionally seems to scream out to not be taken seriously. It opens with the line 'Rick Stein, pleased to meet you', and goes on from there, taking in autotuned glam rock, Mark E. Smith impressions, and a hidden track sung from the perspective of an alien. Their sense of humour has been a strong plus point for the band since their debut, The Decline of British Sea Power. But on this EP it seems more like a defence mechanism, a request not to judge too harshly because none of what they do is meant in earnest. Well, they certainly need some sort of defense mechanism; this EP is bloody awful.