Alexi Murdoch - Time Without Consequence

Genre rock Publisher Zero Summer Records External Links Official Alexi Murdoch Website

Nic Harcourt is known for his impeccable taste and commitment to showcasing bands that are light on name recognition but heavy on talent-so when he says an artist is good, people listen. Normally, the person and/or band in question have a record out, or at least an EP...or at least a demo tape. The fact that Murdoch had none of those things didn't deter Harcourt from inviting him to the studio to play a set. In preparation for that appearance Murdoch put together an EP of four songs, and that same Four Songs EP has since become the all-time number one selling record on CD Baby. The song "Orange Sky" from that EP has appeared in the film Garden State (but you probably have not gotten sick of it because it is the one song that did not appear on the very popular soundtrack), on the television show The OC and in the trailer for the film Paradise Now. It also appears, in a slightly buffed up version, on Murdoch's recently released debut full-length Time Without Consequence.

Murdoch was born in London, spent his early childhood in Greece and his formative years in Scotland, and eventually landed in Los Angeles where he started playing gigs. His voice and songwriting style resemble musicians like Nick Drake and David Gray. His songs are soft, quiet, intimate and melodic, relying heavily on his fingers and his acoustic guitar. His lyrics tell short stories and paint visual pictures using simple and straightforward words. Take for example the opener "All My Days." "I have been quietly standing in the shade/All of my days/Watch the sky breaking on the promise that we made/All of this rain." An English 101 teacher told to read those lines might pooh-pooh them for being too simplistic, too on-the-nose, but if they listened to them set to Murdoch's melody with his voice and his particular inflections, their opinion would change.

"Orange Sky," "Song For You" and "Blue Mind" were all on the EP, and are the most self-assured and strongest songs here. I am not sure what compelled Murdoch to tweak "Orange Sky" and while the two versions are only slightly different, my personal preference would be the barer version on Four Songs.

Almost every song on Time Without Consequence clocks in at or over five minutes, which all but ensures that its national mainstream radio play will be almost non-existent, but that is probably okay with Murdoch, who turned down a deal with a major record company to produce his first record to keep people away who "really don't have anything to do with music, whose interest, by necessity, is just pure economics." Besides, if Nic Harcourt and people like him have any say in the matter, it will get heard.

There are plenty of folk musicians who can play the guitar efficiently and who can write passable lyrics, but there are only a handful of musicians who can do this and make it sound special, exciting and memorable. How do they do this? What sets them apart? Why do people like Nic Harcourt react so strongly to them? Well, I guess if we knew the magic answer to that no one would be subjected to cringe worthy sets at open mic nights anymore, and if we're being honest, no one actually wants that because without those eye rolling sets, people like Murdoch wouldn't shine as brightly as he does.