Elly Roberts reviews
Nizlopi: Half These Songs Are About You
Distributed by
FDM Records
- Cat.no: FDMNIZ002
- Released: December 2005
- Rating: 8/10
Santa was very good to Nizlopi;
he gave them their first number one at
Christmas. The British pop scene has regularly had 'freaky' Christmas number
ones. None could have been more unexpected than a song about a JCB.
Why it was such a festive hit is way beyond me. For whatever reason, it
caught the public's imagination. It appears the timing was perfect, though
some clever behind-the-scenes strategies played a big part in the lead up.
Now comes the album, an 11-tracker full of musical surprises - don't judge
this outfit solely on JCB, as quaint as it is. Beginning of December they
were 33-1 to make it, and they did. The duo, Luke Concannon (singer and
acoustic guitar) and John Parker (upright base, acoustic/electric guitar and
banjo) have done things their way, to their credit.
They've gigged in living
rooms across the country and done the festivals, then by-passing traditional
methods of getting a big label behind them by emailing everyone they could -
now know as, by 'word of mouse'. Sony/BMG and Warners were after them with
big money deals, but 'no thanks' was the response, opting for an independent
release.
The single in reality, is the tip of a huge musical iceberg.
Collectively, they've created one of the most complex and expansive
compositions this side of Rufus Wainwright's Want One and
Want Two.
Their melting pot consists of hip-hop, 21 century folk, jazz and whatever
comes to mind. The fusion is frankly mind-blowing, though on first listen is
somewhat hard to digest; usually the sign of a good album.
A sharp and 'live' feel prevails throughout, with Concannon's vocals a
delight as he tackles the multiple genres. Parker's thumping upright bass
steers the rhythm section beautifully, and he's quite handy on the banjo
too. In many ways the individual songs are staggering with so much crammed
into them. The collection has a genuine homogenous effect, with tracks
sitting nicely next to each other. Both take it up and down in equal
measure.
Confidence oozes at every point: they're quite fearless it seems, and the
net result is a groundbreaking and fascinating album that takes some time to
grow on you.
Best bits - Call It Up, Faith, Wash Away, Sing Around it.
Their salad days are well and truly over - the acid test will be 'difficult'
album number two. I like what they've done so far.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
