Alfie Templeman — Happiness in Liquid Form — EP Review
Indie | Alternative
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Bedfordshire-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Alfie Templeman was somebody who I had to give a special thanks to in 2019. With his debut album Don’t Go Wasting Time, Templeman managed to fill the empty hole of a good D.I.Y type project that was created by the less than lacklustre release from Mac Demarco earlier last year.
And despite that debut album barely feeling like something that was more than an EP, with its list of seven tracks and runtime of just over 20 minutes, we now have another project from Alfie Templeman, one that is labelled as an EP officially.
Admittedly, I was initially considering skipping this project, as Don’t Go Wasting Time came to us in the month of November (where new music was relatively scarce), hence why I decided to listen to Alfie Templeman in the first place. However, with the sudden lack of new musical projects to be found on the final full weekend of July 2020, I decided that it’d be only fair that I delved into Alfie Templeman’s music once again.
While listening to the EP, I was trying to recall my thoughts on last years album, and remembered that while I liked the sounds within Don’t Go Wasting Time. Each track either pointed to a Mac DeMarco style D.I.Y indie, or a more upbeat, Two Door Cinema Club type of energy. However, I also remembered just how much these two separate styles clashed on that album. And when venturing into this new EP, I feel that while these two sounds still remain, they both come together more comfortably on this project, which is ultimately what I think is a strong improvement, and the greatest thing to rave about when writing about the EP.
Having said this however, it feels that the dancey, colourful, and energetic side of things seem to be a little more favoured this time around. And I definitely noticed this on tracks like the title track, or “Obvious Guy”, both of which were teaser tracks, and I only really listened to once the EP had been released.
And while this new EP has a lot to admire, I still feel that it is a little rough around the edges, and unfortunately dulls itself stylistically towards the end of the project, which is certainly the most glaring issue for me. And I feel that it is those tracks who seem to stick to a pop-like formula who are the biggest offenders on this EP, as they lack that sort of musical colour that makes Alfie templeman an enjoyable artist.
Nevertheless, Happiness in Liquid Form definitely spells potential for Alfie Templeman. If I were in his shoes, my next step would be to spend a good amount of time (perhaps one or two years) creating another album; one that has a runtime that’s long enough to be consumed as an experience with the proper length of an album. I am confident that if something like this were to happen, Alfie Templeman will be able to make a project like this truly special.
But back to the here and now, Happiness in Liquid Form is a bright burst of summer energy, for those who needed, packaged into a pretty solid short experience.
Favourite Tracks: Happiness in Liquid Form | Maybe This Is Time | Obvious Guy
Least Favourite Track: My Best Friend
Chess Club | AWAL Recordings
