"We are a punk band. Why? We do exactly what we want. We don't sound like anyone else" Lee Gorton.

Lee Gorton - Vocals
Ian Smith - Guitar
Sam Morris - Bass
Sean Kelly - Drums
Matt McGeever - Cello

Spring's on it's way, kids! It's been a busy time behind the scenes in the world of alfie, but those purveyors of Chorlton sunshine have come to fill the niche in your winter market. Armed with enough good vibes to make the Beach Boys look positively Grinch-like, the scallies your mother would love are gambolling wide-eyed and legless into 2002 with new songs to play and new places to play them.

Since the successful re-release of "You Make No Bones" back in August, Christmas 2001 brought into focus their signing to Parlophone records and the obligatory Xmas knees up. Their two-album contract with Twisted Nerve has been put snugly to bed with this impending release, completed courtesy of an evening in Stringfellows and a magnum or two of Champers. This is of course all in a day's work for NME's "Swig Brother" sultan of the sauce, Lee Gorton - remember Casey Chaos being genuinely aghast at Alfie's drinking powers on last year's Brats tour?

So what of the new record then? A Word In Your Ear reveals a hitherto untapped source of melodic wizardry and tightening of Alfie's off-kilter pots and pans approach to songwriting. It sounds like Bez thumbing a lift with The Band on a seaside jaunt to Blackpool. It's like all your best mates dropping by unannounced with a crate of Stella and a battered acoustic guitar. This is the music of England's West Coast and a four-part harmony never sounded so sweet.