Alexi Murdoch

London-born and Scotland-bred, Alexi Murdoch arrived in the United States six years ago a wide-eyed Duke University freshman philosophy major. Nowadays, he spends more time with his guitar than with his textbooks. Though there’s nothing novel about Murdoch’s musical niche — it’s almost too easy to imagine a clichéd singer-songwriter type slinging a guitar gently over his shoulder after strumming adoring coffee drinkers into a trance — his stripped-down melodies solidly peg the young troubadour alongside the likes of James Taylor. Like Sweet Baby James, Murdoch is capable of soothing, foggy lullabies; philosophical numbers that wax on lost friends and the meaning of life; and even the occasional late-blooming anthem. One such tune from his debut album, Time Without Consequence, is “12,” which begins with the eerie, distorted voice of a woman mumbling into a phone receiver and ends with Murdoch’s vocals soaring to Chris Martin levels. Surprises such as these reveal a folksinger’s folksinger who still manages to come off fresh.