Alexi Murdoch

Alexi Murdoch has received a huge amount of positive press in the lest few years and it is easy enough to see why – he has a soft and understated vocal style and plays guitar rather than using it as a musical prop. His songs are thought provoking and he holds firm convictions without getting ‘shouty’ about them.

This album was recorded in a single sitting – one night – in Vancouver during a tour of North America and you really can hear the immediacy and consistency in the songs. He must have been developing these ideas over a long time because the songs sound well defined and thoroughly developed. The later additions by members of Beirut and The National simply add to the songs rather than taking them anywhere else and the songs are left as the real stars here.

If you had to pigeonhole him I would guess that Folk would suit but he has the wistful delivery of a classic singer/songwriter and with his voice seeming to have elements of London, Greece, France and Scotland in his quiet yet passionate singing – not to mention New York & North Carolina – he could almost find his way into World Music.

I have listened to the album around a dozen times and every time I pick up on something else that I hadn’t noticed before but basically it is a warming and cosy sound to listen to from one end of the album to the other and really well worth the effort of listening closely to.