Like Tortoise, Gastr del Sol, and, later, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Dirty Three helped reinvent the language of indie rock, their ragged and ecstatic instrumentals expanding the form’s sense of possibility in the mid-‘90s. Guitarist Mick Turner, drummer Jim White, and violinist Warren Ellis were busy members of the fertile Melbourne scene in the ‘80s, shuttling in and out of assorted scabrous bands. Their collective reputation grew quickly after they formed in the early ‘90s, their savage and unhinged shows in Australian pubs leading to an international record deal and major tours. Horse Stories and Ocean Songs and Whatever You Love, You Are established them as a truly great improvisational act, reframing the terms of a power trio by adding absolute punk gusto to music that sounds a little like jazz, a little like a string band, and a lot like nothing else.
Le Gesù