If your reference points for the lute start and end with Martin on The Simpsons, then you might be reluctant to check out Xylouris White, the duo of Cretan lute player George Xylouris and Dirty Three member Jim White. But a Xylouris White set absolutely ambushed me at a festival a few years ago, and this band’s spaced-out and idiosyncratic style is both gorgeous and completely original. You don’t have to start taking lutists seriously, but you should give this one a listen.
This spring, Xylouris White will release their new album The Forest In Me. They recorded it with former Fugazi co-leader Guy Picciotto, who is both Xylouris White’s regular producer and their “unofficial third member.” We’ve already posted the early single “Latin White,” and now they’ve also shared the hypnotic new instrumental “Red Wine,” which sounds at least a bit like how actual red wine tastes. Anna White directed the video, which is full of images of emus and kangaroos. Check it out below.
The Forest In Me is out 4/14 on Drag City.
