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Folk and Pop Collide in a Gentle Ballad

Alexi Murdoch creates a folk-pop record that's likely to endure.
Alexi Murdoch creates a folk-pop record that's likely to endure.

British singer-songwriter Alexi Murdoch doesn't exactly rewrite the classic folk songbook on his first full-length studio album, Time Without Consequence. But with his rich, hypnotic ballads and tender acoustic guitar work, he's created a timeless folk-pop record that's likely to endure.

A kindred spirit to the works of Nick Drake, Richard Thompson and John Martyn, Time Without Consequence follows 2002's understated and beautiful 4 Songs EP. During the four-year gap between releases, Murdoch saw his song "Orange Sky" featured on the soundtracks to Garden State and The O.C., but he turned down numerous offers from record labels, choosing instead to release Time Without Consequence on his own.

It's hard to not be won over by Murdoch's warmth and sincerity, even as his self-examination comes tinged with resignation: "I've been trying to find what's been in my mind / as the days keep turning into night." "All My Days" could have been made 40+ years ago, during the first folk explosion, but if it had been, it would still sound relevant today.

Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Bruce Warren is assistant general manager for programming of WXPN in Philadelphia. Besides serving as executive producer of World Café, Warren also contributes to Paste magazine and writes for two blogs: Some Velvet Blog and WXPN's All About The Music Blog.
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