Just when I thought it was a done deal that we weren’t ever getting a new Dirty Three album, they drop Love Changes Everything, their first LP in twelve years!
This trio hails from Melbourne, Australia and have been at it with the same original members since 1992. One of the very first Post-Rock explorations that incorporated strings. Warren Ellis, one of Nick Cave’s biggest prospects, has always been a wonderful aspect to Dirty Three’s sound in the past, and this album is no exception. Warren’s violin takes you away into this transcendent journey of bliss accompanied by the two other members - Mick Turner on guitar, and drummer Jim White.
Now, out of all Dirty Three albums, this is probably their most aggressive and it also shows a lot more influences then any other album in their entire catalog. “Love Changes Everything 2” is definitely the most beautiful song on the album with this simple, delicate piano backed up by these haunting drones that seamlessly transition into the third track. The closer is an epic that combines everything in the past five songs into this ten-minute voyage of disjointed drums, some light crescendoing in and out, and bluesy guitars ringing up and down. It is my favorite song on the entire album and if Dirty Three decides to call it quits after this album, this closer is a beautiful way to close the doors to an outstanding four-decade career as a band.
On most of these songs, you’ll hear a conflation of free improvisation as well as post-minimalism and some dark jazzy moments adding flavor to their signature Post-Rock pattern. Love Changes Everything is a six song-album clocking in at just over 40 minutes in length; the type of album that doesn’t overstay its welcome and knows when to call it quits. If Dirty Three decide to not call it a day, I really hope it doesn’t take another twelve years, or even half that long for that matter, because a band of this stature has just shown once again that they have what it takes to keep putting together originality and innovation in this sometimes formulaic and hackneyed style that we call Post-Rock.
Here is the video for “Love Changes Everything 1”
