Melbourne, Australia
Rhythm of the Crete

“Black Peak,” the title track and opener of the new Xylouris White record, sounds peppy and folkloric before it kicks into a thundering Zeppelin-ish jam that conjures seafaring warriors, ecstatic bards, wild goatherds and furies kicking up dust. Xylouris White is an enigmatic duo: George Xylouris, a lute player from Crete, who comes from a line of internationally famous traditional musicians, and Jim White, an indie-rock drummer known for playing in the Australian trio Dirty Three and for working with artists like Bonnie “Prince” The debut album from Los Angeles’ Alex Izenberg, Harlequin, floats around the listener like a SoCal breeze, and
the talented singer-songwriter seems poised to follow Tobias Jesso Jr. as the next under-the-radar introspective phenom. A numer of Izenberg’s musical friends fill out his skeletal song structures with lush strings and
horns, along with album engineer JR White, who just so happens to have worked with Billy and Cat Power. This is their second album, but the two have been friends for 20 years or so. Xylouris’ singing is more prominent on the new one, adding space and depth to the songs, a mix of originals and traditional material, some dating back centuries. This elemental music seems both ancient and vital. “Music in Crete is alive—it’s not something we play and then put back in the cupboard,” says Xylouris, who spoke by phone from a tour stop in Scotland. A song like “Forging” suggests flames, tongs, hammer and anvil with its rhythms and textures. White conceives of the music in visual and physical ways. Many of these songs are dance songs, and White works to advance that spirit. “One minute, I think I’m being the dancer,” he says of his drumming. “Sometimes I think I’m the weather—and the voice is singing a song about being inside and being warm.”