FOR a while there it looked like Alfie were destined to be forever the bridesmaid, but having wedded their distinctly northern English fondness for happy-sad whimsy to a plethora of psychedelic turns and added a confident strain of folky rock, they're standing pretty at the altar of the Really Good.
After three albums of pleasant, if somewhat inconsequential, sun-drenched stoner pop, the newly robust Alfie have an album of poise and balance that drips with top tunes, head-spinning arrangements and unholy catchy choruses. Til the End takes a David Axelrod-meets-Flaming Lips blueprint and soaks the lot in a downpour of uplifting strings; Your Own Religion makes eyes at Super Furry Animals-grade psyche-pop; and All Too Heavy Now employs a broadside of power chords to carry it over the line.
The title track coughs and wheezes a little, Wizzo is little more than a stoned studio sketch, but these are minor gripes - Crying At Teatime is a mellow gem of experienced and experimental sunshine pop that knows where it's been and is damned sure of where it's headed.
Nick Churchill
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