Forging the Divide

Xylouris White is the sound of two people making music in a room. Person number one is Jim White of well-known Australian experimental rock trio Dirty Three. Person two is George Xylouris, one of Crete’s most beloved musicians, on vocals and lute.  The result, evidenced on “Forging” from the duo’s 2016 release Black Peak, is something akin to punk, but also deeply rooted in the folk tradition of Xylouris’ native Crete. And like many folk traditions, there’s formalism but also creative naiveté — celebration, mourning and catharsis.  Continue reading 

Take it Easy

The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart

There’s a song called “City of Angels” from The Head and The Heart’s third release, Signs of Light, and the album’s cover image shows the band lounging around a pool on a sunny afternoon.  All this seems to signal a shift for the Seattle musicians away from the delicate, cloudy indie-folk sound they came up under — the same sound popularized by contemporaries like Blitzen Trapper, Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons.  Continue reading 

Mr. Brown Returns

No doubt Detroit rapper Danny Brown likes to party, evidenced by tracks like “Blunt After Blunt,” “Smokin & Drinkin” and “Die Like A Rockstar.” With an increasing fan base and his fourth studio album just released Sept. 30, it seems like the 35-year-old has no plans of halting the fun bus anytime soon.  Continue reading