From bona fide boy bands to Irish rockers, Leeds-based singer-songwriter Chizi names her favourite UK bands, and lists a few of their best-ever songs.
Chizi’s latest EP Drive arrived last month, and while most musicians might be in for some post-debut release downtime, the Leeds-based singer is still eager to dish on all things music as part of an exclusive playlist for Happy Mag.
This passion for her artistry is felt all throughout Drive, a five-track project that explores the reaches of pop music — from bubblegum melodies to piano ballads — en route to self-empowerment.
Packaged around catchy hooks and pristine production, Drive tackles topics around reciprocal love, identity and romantic fantasies for a stellar debut that serves as both a love letter to pop music and oneself. The genre pastiche of Drive is borne out of Chizi’s affinity for UK bands, whose influence is palpable on the EP’s more guitar-driven cuts.
Spanning pop boy bands like The 1975 to Irish rockers like Inhaler, Chizi’s sonic palette is varied and rich, with a playlist that finesses between genres with just as much ease as Drive.
Below, Happy Mag caught up with Chizi for a run-through of her top five favourite bands from the UK, and her picks for the best songs in each of their respective catalogues. Elsewhere, the singer-songwriter dishes on her experience in the moshpit of Foals and Arctic Monkeys concerts, and names the one band who “aren’t afraid of doing something different.”
Scroll down Chizi’s full playlist, and listen to her new EP Drive below.
Foals
Foals as a band appeal a lot to me and are one of my favourite bands. This is probably because of their versatility in terms of their sound which can be evident over the years from each of their different albums and eras.
Their sound ranges from the indie/dance of their debut album Antidotes, to Total Life Forever, which as has a deeper more serious tone to it, to What Went Down, Holy Fire and Everything Not Saved Pt.2, which all have rockier moments.
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost P.1 has a fusion and mixture of upbeat and dance tracks with other reflective songs. Their current 7th studio album Life Is Yours is more dance focused with tracks like Wild Green and The Sound to name a few, whilst other tracks such as Wake Me Up and 2001 have more funky grooves to them.
I got to watch them live in London during the ‘Life Is Yours Tour’ for the first time. Watching them live has been on my bucket list for a very long time and finally it happened. Foals had a good stage presence and impeccable energy which never dipped throughout the entirety of the show.
Top song picks: Life Is Yours, Under The Radar, Balloons, Olympic Airways, Cafe D’Athens, Moonlight.
Bombay Bicycle Club
Throughout their album cycles, Bombay Bicycle Club have shown that they can also be versatile in their sound. Their second album Flaws has more of a folk sound with great storytelling lyrics, with tracks like Rinse Me Down, Flaws and Ivy and Gold to name a few; whilst in their other albums they experiment with ‘electronica’ and ‘world music’ sounds.
I got to watch them live last year at Live at Leeds, where they were the main act I was looking forward to seeing. I was right at the front barrier. They put on a great show and had me dancing along all throughout to their songs especially to Always Like This, which is a fan favourite that has an infectious and groovy bassline.
Top song picks: Always Like This, Lights Out Words Gone, Shuffle, Overdone, Ivy And Gold, Swansea
Inhaler
I first heard of Inhaler in 2020 when they released their song We Have to Move On. Somehow while surfing the Internet and scrolling through YouTube on my phone, I had landed on the music video which visually appealed to me and so did the song. Later in the same year, they had put out their song When It Breaks, which I kept playing a lot in 2020.
Through this, I decided to listen back to the other songs in their discography before they had released their debut album, and found the tracks My Honest Face, Ice Cream Sundae and Falling In, all which I really liked and enjoyed listening to.
When they put out their second album Cuts and Bruises I instantly liked what was there and ended up listening to the album from start to finish more than once (4 times to be exact)
Top song picks: Slide Out of The Window, Honest Face, Cheer Up Baby, Valentine, Dublin In Ecstasy, These Are the Days, The Things I Do.
Arctic Monkeys
I think the first ever song that I had heard Arctic Monkeys must have been either I Bet You Look Good on The Dancefloor or When the Sun Goes Down back in 2006. Over the years, I have continued to listen to their music and have watched countless interviews. Also, on my bucket list is to watch them live which hasn’t happened yet but hopefully someday I will.
Frontman Alex Turner is great at creating a cinematic listening experience in the way he incorporates imagery into his lyrics, along with being a great storyteller in the concepts he decides to talk about.
It’s also really cool how they don’t really repeat themselves when it comes to an album, their sound, and how they aren’t afraid of doing something different and taking risks.
Top song picks: Cornerstone, I Bet You Look Good on The Dancefloor, Old Yellow Bricks, Piledriver Waltz, Why Do You Only Call Me When You’re High?, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, Body Paint, Big Ideas.
The 1975
I first noticed The 1975 when I stumbled across a black and white picture of the band that was promoting a gig of theirs in 2013. I watched a livestreamed performance of theirs in 2014, and Matty instantly caught my attention with his playful, not too serious antics and stage presence.
After this, I started listening to their music a lot more and took more notice of the band by watching every performance that they did.
They can do any style of music and it still sounds like themselves. This can range from ambient to a mixture of electronic, pop and floor filler tracks such as ‘Girls’, They can also do country, folk and acoustic styles as shown throughout their discography.
Top song picks: Pressure, Girls, Give Yourself a Try, Oh Caroline, When We Are Together, Ugh, Frail State of Mind.
