Australian instrumental trio the Dirty Three has been creating lush, epic soundscapes since the early 1990s. Comprising drummer Jim White, guitarist Mick Turner, and violinist Warren Ellis, the Dirty Three's dramatic sound is difficult to categorize--built on traditional folk melodies, while evocative of the more dynamic strains of underground rock, yet immediately compelling. HORSE STORIES (1996), the band's third full-length, is arguably its masterpiece. Warren Ellis's amplified violin careens from moments of spare tenderness to violent shards of melody, while Jim White follows directly behind with scattered, jazzy rhythms. On guitar, Mick Turner plays the role of both casual observer and musical anchor. A truly wonderful album, HORSE STORIES is the sound of a heartbroken drunk stumbling across town and country, a wordless lovers' quarrel, musical salvation with no guarantees for next time.
Recording information: Maison Rouge London (1996).
Personnel: Warren Ellis (vocals, violin); Andria Degens (vocals); Mick Turner (guitar, organ); Jim White (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Paul Corkett.
Rolling Stone (1/23/97, p.44) - Ranked #3 on Rolling Stone's list of the "Ten Best Albums" of 1996.
Rolling Stone (10/31/96, p.70) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...The problem with a lot of the so-called post-rock bands...is that they just don't actually rock. Dirty Three rock....On their and best album so far, the...trio...moves through some of the grittiest, most mesmerizing music you'll hear this year..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/11/96, p.92) - "...Whether thrashing away furiously or playing late-night weepers, the Dirty Three create music of heartbreaking beauty and fire..." - Rating: A
Q (11/96, p.120) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...another collection of splendidly lurching, morning-after-the-nightmare-before instrumentals....Music, then, with all the pain and much of the redemptive virtue of the best hangovers. That good."
Uncut (p.99) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith feats of measured grace and startling tenderness..."
Alternative Press (2/97, p.59) - 5 (out of 5) - "...HORSE STORIES requires no words because each note conveys more pain, sadness and joy than most artists can muster in an entire album."
Option (11-12/96, p.101) - "...a hangover of music that reeks of enough pain, anger, hope and grace to fill a dozen pint glasses....explores the darkest of emotions with static, droning dirges and eruptions of whirling, thrashing tantrums..."
Melody Maker (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67) - Ranked #28 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's "Albums Of The Year."
Melody Maker (9/7/96, p.42) - Recommended - "Emotion. It always comes down to emotion..."
NME (Magazine) (9/7/96, p.46) - 7 (out of 10) - "...The Dirty Three evidently have no great designs on mainstream success, preferring instead to doggy paddle through huge puddles of booze, tears and muddy melancholia....thrillingly enough, they're more about a violin than a guitar..."
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