Words: Laura Mills
Photography: Rebecca Wood
Alfie, Alfie, Alfie, that was brilliant. I went into this gig really not sure what to expect, but I was completely, utterly gobsmacked by these young lads and the talent they possess. When first hearing Alfie’s music, I was so impressed, but I didn’t realise quite how organic and unique the sound they were creating really was. Between myself and my photographer, we have christened them with the genre of New Funk… for now.
His debut in Sheffield kicked off with the funky, fabulous ‘Shady’. I already guessed we were in for a good night when the first sound of the instruments woke the incredibly drunk man next to me. This one started with a steady beat of the drums and a slight few twangs of guitar strings preparing us to hear his vocals for the first time. Alfie’s vocals are sublime: a mixture of adolescence presents enough for them to sound sweet, but paired with a deeper, almost teasing-like sound they really make this guy stand out.
Next up was ‘Who I Am’. Every second while performing this one Alfie and the band gave it their all, full of energy and enthusiasm. That’s another thing that marks this artist stand out from the rest: it feels like every song is crafted with a complete lust for life. ‘Who I Am’ has a sound that I could only compare with the American Artist Dayglow (and I’m in love with his music, too).
I’m biased because this is one of my favourites but they absolutely plunged into ‘Stop Thinking (About Me)’. It’s a song that launches right into the most stylish, sleek strumming of strings in a way that seems so much more than what you’d get from an upcoming artist; it isn’t experimental, it’s so well thought-out and executed expertly. You could see with every second guiding us into the track the band were loving it themselves, especially the bassist, who is now the grooviest man I’ve ever seen. ‘Stop Thinking (About Me)’ is a song I can wholeheartedly say is even better live.
For someone so young in this industry, he’s confident in his ability on that stage and rightly so. However conflicted, his humbleness shines through so well too. Throughout the show, Alfie made sure to keep praising his cool band and made sure to highlight his gratitude to them.
Down at The Leadmill, we also got to hear a few new tunes, one of which really stood out called ‘Candyfloss’. When describing this one in my notes I just wrote ‘new banger’ and I believe there’s no better way to describe this inherently enthusiastic, positively striking song.
‘3D Feelings’ made sure if anyone hadn’t sung or danced all evening yet, they had to now, and then it was all over for the night…
All until Mr Blue Chequered Shirt started chanting “Alfie, Alfie”, got the rest of the crowd involved – and soon the boys were back on stage for the encore.
Alfie Templeman and the band finished their Steel City set with his most popular song of all, ‘Happiness In Liquid Form’ – impossible not to love every single second of. Finally, after the show, I manage to grab a few words with Alfie and I really wanted to know how he would describe the show in three words only.
“Pretty f**king unreal,” he said.
Yes, Alfie. I agree.
