Alfi

Twisted Nerve/Beggars Banquet
Yet another pop record from England. These Manchester kids utilize cello, bells, piano and treated vocals that fade from here to there over the top of reverb-laden echo guitars to affect what is a generally lush sound. Erstwhile horns linger over background noises in what is generally lofi ’70s pop. It is hard these days not to compare all folky pop bands from the British Isles to Belle and Sebastian, and these guys make the influence apparent on a couple of tracks. While this group purports to attempt to bridge the gap between post-rockers like Tortoise and Mogwai and pure pop like B&S, these guys are definitely on the watery, gutless pop side of things. Yes, absent of guts.