Dirty Three: M. Turner (guitar); W. Ellis (violin); J. White (drums).
Recorded in July 1999.
Whatever knowledge or art the musicians who comprise Dirty Three soaked up in their early years must have been not only chaotic and dark, but also sublimely beautiful. The compositions on their fifth release, WHATEVER YOU LOVE, YOU ARE, softly swirl into an after-hours netherworld; a plaintive violin wails an opening to "Some Summers They Drop Like Flys," and the song becomes a soundtrack to a night of dyspeptic dreams which swing from nightmare to euphoria.
The creations of Dirty Three meander around a world surrounded by a void, yet every string plucked, every beat laid down makes sense. With music so full, so lush, it's hard to believe Dirty Three are merely a small group and not a symphony orchestra. WHATEVER YOU LOVE, YOU ARE is sweet, dissonant loveliness.
Professional Reviews
Q (4/00, p.90) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...At their best...[they] are as sweet and relaxing as hot chocolate....this was never meant to be anything other than background music."
Alternative Press (5/00, p.81) - 4 out of 5 - "...Shows them at the peak of their songcraft....the Dirty Three still sound perfect together."
Magnet (4-5/00, p.71) - "...Another three-hanky study in pristine ache and soaring grandeur. It's the sound the saints make when they go marching in."
The Wire (4/00, p.50) - "...Undeniably the apex of their recorded work so far....[they] have reached such an elevated plateau of celestial communication that they put most jazz/improv groups to shame..."
CMJ (3/13/00, p.3) - "...an explosion of life, color and texture....frontman, Warren Ellis is an artist who never lets reason and intellectual measure block the path that connects his heart to his hands on the violin. His talent is as breathtaking as ever..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/00, p.96) - "...their finest work yet....reaching new heights of sublime beauty....this is an album that will work its way into your heart like a lost love, staying with you long after the final note has faded."
NME (Magazine) (4/1/00, p.32) - 7 out of 10 - "...Brushes shoulders with the passing post-rock zeitgeist...making dark, beautiful and frequently unpleasant music....Theirs is a hermetically sealed universe of eerie melodies and stabbing despair..."
