Poor old Alfie. Victims of one of Steven Wells' frequent near-homicidal grudges - from their winsome moniker right down to their jingly-jangly little cotton grey indie socks - it does seem as if they were conceived purely with the intention of annoying him personally. Certainly, Lee Gorton is not the most Rollins-like of vocalists and on this vocal showing you doubt he could bench-press twice his bodyweight.
None of this matters, however, because Alfie's 'baggy orchestral folk' has a deceptively fragile allure that refuses to be denied. 'Sure & Simple Time' lilts along like the theme from some '60s children's programme, before a cello flutters into the fray like a butterfly through an open window; slight yet utterly compelling. 'Ooze A Lullaby' is even weirder, underpinned by a scraping, abstract double bass. In their own way, Alfie are way, way harder than Slipknot et al. To survive and even thrive on the
arid, harsh, neglected peripheries
of indie, where MTV never go
and no money is ever spent, requires real iron in the soul.
David Stubbs
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