The Thousands

My first memory of the Dirty Three was when they played live on ABC’s Recovery program. It was off the back of their fourth release Ocean Songs and I vividly remember a beardless Warren Ellis deep in concentration, back to the audience, in some sort of celestial conversation with his violin. At the time I didn’t know that you could even amplify a violin, let alone produce the crunchy, powerful, soulful sounds that Ellis produced. Four albums and fourteen years later, the Dirty Three are back with Toward The Low Sun, and they have once again produced an album cinematic in its scope and heart-wrenchingly beautiful in its execution.

The first song on Toward The Low Sun, ‘Furnace Skies’, gives the impression that Ellis’ violin has been usurped to support Jim White’s scatty drums, Mick Turner’s unfailingly subtle guitar, and whomever is playing the keys of a wonderfully fuzzed out organ. However, tracks like ‘Rising Below’ – with its slow build into chaotic, distorted violin – show Ellis’ utter mastery of the infinitely minute textures, tones, and drones of the instrument.

From repeat listens of Toward The Low Sun it’s apparent that Ellis, Turner, and White have created a synopsis of musical experience: the heavy-hitting guitar track ‘That Was Was’ is contrasted by the plodding, bluesy ‘Rain Song’, which is offset by the delicate piano-based track ‘Ashen Snow’.

Dirty Three are one of the few bands that can convincingly create emotive, musical story-telling without the aid of a singer. All that’s left to say is: buy the album and go see them live. You will not be disappointed.