If you think that rock has lost its creative energy you'd better look into the modern Melbourne, Australia. Not only this metropolis fathered Nick Cave "the bad seed" but it also launched first-rate indie bands, such as Dirty Three. This instrumental trio has melted folk-rock with chamber music, painting it all in gloomy colours. The main feature is the electric violin played by Warren Ellis, excellent musician, who recently joined the Nick Cave's live band. Warren Ellis explained the ultimate goal: "We prefer to explore the specificity of every single instrument, rather then walking on the traditional song's path".

Mick Turner rythmic guitar can flirt between jazz and punk. He is also the author of their beautiful album covers, where short touches of colour can do their songs pictures. Their music would be said artificial if a gloomy soul wasn't inside. In fact their compositions are so evocative to be compared with the most famous Ennio Morricone soundtracks.
"For our music the most important thing is the sadness", the drummer Jim White said. And their charming sound could not be indifferent to Nick Cave, who wanted Ellis in his live performances and composed some themes for the X-Files soundtrack with the trio. They also signed up the music for the Carl Dreyer's silent film "The passion of Joan of Arc", and the australian product "Praise".

Their evolution can be explained with their personal histories (now they live between London, Paris and Chicago). Grew up in Melbourne underground scene, after their debut album "Dirty Three", they have undertaken a long tour throughout United States and Europe. During this period they played as a supporter band with Nick Cave, Ricky Lee Jones, Beck, Beastie Boys, John Cale, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pavement and Henry Rollins. With the following "Horse stories" (n. 3 in Rolling Stone's 1996 chart) and "Sad and dangerous" they have developed  their formula which also recalls the unplugged experiments of both  Penguin Cafè Orchestra and Third Ear Band.  

In 1998 their album "Ocean songs" won the heart of the alternative rock audience worldwide. The record was produced by Steve Albini, godfather of Usa indie rock. "Ocean songs" is a concept-album about the sea, built of dreaming themes, full of sadness, with jazz and classical influences. In "Black tide" every instrument plays a part: drums are the backwash, violin is the wind and guitar is the rinsing. You can hear the waves, the seagulls and sirens singing through their notes, but you can also share the melancholy of a man sailing the oceans or gazing at the sea by the shore. The climax is reached with the suite "Deep waters", the band's favourite song.

Their formula is brand new even if some crititcs have compared them to the Palace, Lambchop and Spain spleen songwriting, and many others to the best samples of Tortoise's post rock. But Warren Ellis says: "A journalist was interviewing me. She told me she included Dirty Three in the post-rock movement. I had to explain her that I didn't even know about post-rock. These definitions are a waste of time: music is music. Thanks God!". Talking about God, Dirty Three songs are full of a mystic tension. The violinist explains: "I need something that can justify my life. I deeply believe in spirituality".

"Whatever you love you are" (2000) followed the path trodden with the self-titled "Dirty Three" published in 1995. It is composed by six long tracks, full of charm, recorded in a near low-fi technique. The beautiful ouverture's suite "Some summers they drop like flys", pervaded by an irresistible melancholy, sounds as their best composition ever. "This is our best product. With it we got rid of the rigours in excess", Ellis said. And the result is a complex music fit for a large audience, who loves punk, electronic and post-rock. 

In 2001 Dirty Three came back with "Lowlands", a more subdued album where violin and piano parts are reduced and the guitar parts have a stronger role. Despite some good tracks like "Kangaroo" and "Lowlands", the musical result seems to be far away from their best suites.

She Has No Strings Apollo (2003) is another voyage into their evocative music.