She Has No Strings Apollo
The esoteric wistfulness of Australian instrumentalists Dirty Three once again shines onShe Has No Strings Apollo, though something's changed for the trio. Here their melancholic sensibilities aren't subjected to chaotic outbursts, as in the past. Anchored by drummer Jim White's jazzy shuffles, violinist Warren Ellis plays sad melodies while Mick Turner's rootless guitar splashes color the edges. Though less dynamically extreme and of a folksier disposition thanSlintorMogwai, D3 have a similar ability to accelerate from 0 to 11 in the course of a song. Selections like "She Has No Strings" exhibit a deliberate minimalism akin toLow(with whom they collaborated on 1999's excellentIn the Fishtank), only to dissolve into a bramble of string-driven noise. Still, the grand cacophony ofOcean Songsisn't as prominent, with a few exceptions--notably White's explosion at the end of "Sister Let Them Try and Follow." Few bands, however, make slowing down sound this risky.--Matthew Cooke