My Favorite Artists (Part 2 of 5): Nizlopi

I was going to follow up Benjy’s post with one about my home state, Connecticut. An island of tranquility between Boston and New York, Connecticut remains neutral by not offering much of anything. It’s a small state with big money, Martha Stewart, Joe Lieberman, and a silent “c.” As a result, Connecticut is the butt of quite a few jokes and the subject of exactly zero songs.

So, Nizlopi. Based in the UK, they seemed an obvious choice for today after seeing Hot Fuzz last night. I discovered Nizlopi in early November, and their music pretty much defined my first semester at college. The band consists only of a singing guitarist (Luke Concannon) and a beatboxing bassist (John Parker), but they achieve an impressively full sound in the studio.

My favorite thing about Nizlopi is that they come up with incredibly catchy melodies while maintaining their musicality, individuality and British humor. They offer guilt-free upbeat music with witty lyrics and distinct personality. I love literally every song off their debut album, Half These Songs Are About You, and the following EP, ExtraOrdinary.

There’s not much else to say about them, except that they’re the only band I know named after a Hungarian girl (Luke’s school crush), and that they’re currently #1 on my “top artists I want to see live” list. I had a hard time choosing which songs to post, since they’re all so different and so good. “JCB” and “Girls” are their two singles, and “Flooded Quarry,” “Helen,” and “Freedom” are my three personal favorites. “Glastonbury” is a little different, but is a good example of the type of music on the EP and is another of my favorites.

Nizlopi – JCB
Nizlopi – Girls
Nizlopi – Flooded Quarry
Nizlopi – Helen
Nizlopi – Freedom
Nizlopi – Glastonbury
Pete Seeger – Yankee Doodle (CT’s state song)

Buy the CDs here. Really, buy them. Not to support the artist, but for your own good.

-danny