The Manchester quintet Alfie (singer Lee Gorton, guitarist Ian Smith, cellist Matt McGeever, bassist Sam Morris, and drummer Sean Kelly), came about in the late '90s after Gorton became increasingly fed up with the local music scene — when most bands at the time were merely rehashing Oasis songs. The band caught a break with their very first show when the U.K. publication NME was doing an article on several different British music scenes, and happened to come upon the new group, reviewing the show and printing a picture of the band. The band soon befriended Damon Gough (better-known as Badly Drawn Boy), who promptly signed the group to his newly founded Twisted Nerve label.
Amazon.co.uk Review of new album "Crying at Teatime" Alfie, whose back catalogue stands as a bastion of dependable, solid, likeable and above all listenable (not something many of their contemporaries can claim), are a band who can charm you or break your heart, often simultaneously. The lack of dead wood in their songs is a testament to natural talent, and a keen sense of how to make great pop records.
From the cover art on down, "Crying At Teatime" encapsulates everything Alfie have been doing right so far, and then sets the bar even higher. Ten tracks of good, solid guitar rock, with Lee Gordon’s wistful vocal performance a good counterpoint to what would be bombastic in lesser hands. Grandiose, enjoyable and most importantly catchy, this is great stuff.
Alfie
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