Alfie Connor at St Pancras Old Church
This summer, Sheffield-native Goldsmiths-grad Alfie Connor played the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury, and as the weather turns colder he is to be found in rather more permanent surroundings at historic St Pancras Old Church. The room is full with twenty-somethings who seem to either already know him, or at least feel like they do.
Alfie sticks quite closely to his set list from Worthy Farm and, within a minute, is disarming the crowd with the confession that all he really needs is their Love and Affection. Their response is warm and supportive with cheering and enthusiastic applause. He moves on into Tell Me What You Did Last Night and Tie Me Down: the titles of which suggest either demanding paranoia or an interest in S&M, but in reality are much more likeable. If this was just a man with a guitar, these kinds of songs and lyrical content would be something that had been heard before, but bolstered by a drummer, drum machine and sample board, Alfie has a much more interesting and relevant sound. If Justin Timberlake had been produced by Jamie xx instead of Timbaland, he would have come out with something like this.
The tempo picks up a little as the band goes into the only single to have been released so far, Stranger. Alfie’s guitar is soft, contrasting with the delicate, close vocal harmonies that seem to cut right to the hearts of those watching. In delivering this track, the most polished of the set, it’s clear to see what potential lies ahead – Alfie Connor sings of pain, but it sounds so lovely that the listener can’t switch off. New track Hopeless Love sees the support act from earlier this evening – Maya Yianni – back on stage to great effect.
Alfie Connor closes his half-hour set with the same track as he did at Glastonbury, Can We Get It on Tonight? The crowd seems to consent, but the band leaves the stage decisively once the song is finished, and the musicians are presumably left to contemplate texting their exes all the way home.
Cath Willcox
Photos: Erol Birsen
For further information about Alfie Connor and future events visit here.
Watch the video for Stranger here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb7YDbReyc0
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