Alexi Murdoch is a rare gift to the world of music – an artist who has earned a notable amount of fame and praise (despite his still short career) but also one who has remained humble, spiritual and honest. Alexi Murdoch’s first album was sensitive and penetrating to the core, and his newest album, Towards the Sun proves that Murdoch is going to be around for a while longer. His voice is deep and every song is universally relevant and plays off themes and emotions we can all attest to. This album speaks to all the private discourses we hold within – our fears, our loves and our hopes. Towards the Sun is Murdoch’s follow-up four years after Time Without Consequence. Towards the Sun is stunning in all its simplicity. Recorded in a 6-hour session in Vancouver whilst touring in 2009, it is stripped down and offers only the essential, as compared to TWC, which was significantly more layered, and voyaging. This album is lovely and calming, to which I attribute to the incredible mélange Murdoch’s voice makes with his guitar. This is a beautiful man with a beautiful message – at it core, music is still about provoking something within us and stirring it up. (Zero Summer Records, www.aleximurdoch.com) Victoria King