Alfie, though continuing the deplorable Brit trend of naming bands after proper male names, overcome the associative images of Michael Caine and a midget in a hairy orange alien suit to create impressionist folk music that prioritizes fiddling with the bells and whistles-- at times literally-- over troubadour tradition. In American hands (and more specifically Athenian, Georgian hands), music of this ilk would wander into Brian Wilson's territory. But the Anglo angle leans more toward Syd Barrett and Fairport Convention. Woodwinds bleat. Dewy pianos twinkle. Bare guitars tiptoe. Harmonies ooze and fade. Sunny Day Real Estate frontman Jeremy Enigk flirted with similar sounds on his 1996 solo album, Return of the Frog Queen, before taking the path-- one Pink Floyd and Henry Cow blazed decades ago-- into prog.
The grammatically mangled If You Happy With You Need Do Nothing collects the lite, sylvan psych singles Alfie have released to date on Badly Drawn Boy's Twisted Nerve label. And though never reaching the levels of attempted irony and wit (or the hooks) of the Boy, Alfie nevertheless wear wool hats and weave album covers of corduroy. The aural chamomile commences with "Bookends," making the prerequisite reading references. Fortunately, there are no songs of tea or sheep, but farms and rain are covered in the Alfie syllabus. Simple strings and chimes establish the mood with a relieving yawn. "It's Just About the Weather" shaves the hair off Gomez's back and throat to reveal a more tolerable rural emotion hoe-down.
It's impossible to play in the lanes of lithe acoustic music with violins, pianos, and tambourines in the northern United Kingdom without sideswiping Belle and Sebastian. "2 Up 2 Down" does just that, strumming clean guitars like ukuleles with the dog-eared corners of Far from the Madding Crowd and punctuating with bike bell percussion.
The second side opens more interestingly with the Flaming Lips-like "Umlaut," where drug-cracked symphonies stomp lightly alongside crashing brass. "Check the Weight" tries on the fashionable baggy loops of the Beta Band, and the closing "Montevideo" chirps with wristwatch electronics. The beauty lies in the details, which, while comforting and ear-piquing, offers merely relaxing vacations rather than environments which beg to be inhabited. Alfie treat folk like mood music, and might slip through this current "quiet" trend by hiding their true colors under heavy coats, hunched shoulders, and closed eyelids. Ol' Mum was onto something when she nagged, "Speak clearly! Mind your posture!" Hopefully, they'll rip open the rain-soaked cardboard on their debut LP.
