What was the best thing you’d achieved by the age of 15? The ability to roll cigarettes? A quick fumble with your childhood sweetheart behind the bike sheds? Drinking a whole big bottle of that weird blue drink that kids used to drink (the name of which escapes me*) and not getting sick? All highly impressive, but I bet you hadn’t released a critically acclaimed first EP and signed to the same record label as Hinds, Sundara Karma and Bloxx, had ya? Well, had ya?! No, exactly. Wind your neck in, then.
Harrold’s Alfie Templeman on the other hand, has. The aforementioned EP, ‘Like an Animal’, was released last month and he played a free entry headline set in Danny’s Bar at Esquire’s to celebrate. Having already championed him endlessly on Transmission on Diverse FM, including giving him the EP of the week title a few shows back, I thought it’d be daft not to see what he’s like as a live performer. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Musically, Templeman reminds me of The Coral with a dash of MGMT and that’s the vibes you get live. His band, all equally as fresh faced are tight and accomplished, allowing Templeman to strut his stuff as a front man. The crowd is seemingly made up of many friends and family of Templeman but there’s a fair smattering of people in to see what all the fuss is about, and I dare say they went home as impressed as I did.
You can see why Templeman is getting the acclaim he is at such a young age. There’s definitely a market for this sort of guitar based solo act. The likes of George Ezra and Bedford’s favourite son Tom Grennan proving this. If he carries on as he is then I firmly believe that Templeman could be the heir to Grennan’s throne. He’s supporting The Scruff on the Esquires main stage on 22nd December so I’d suggest you go check him out.
*I’ve just remembered that the blue drink I referenced earlier was (and possibly still is) called WKD, so there you have it. Merry Christmas.
by Danny Buckley
