Instrumental trio changes its traditional formula, entertains high-profile guests
Dirty Three breaks its 14-year tradition of lengthy instrumentals with Cinder, a collection of 19 tracks that includes the group’s first songs with vocals. Chan Marshall’s trance-like singing on “Great Waves” is reminiscent of the Dirty Three’s Fishtank collaboration with Low, and Mekon Sally Timms adds subtle ooohs to “Feral.” But most remarkable is the group’s evenly balanced partnership: Jim White’s shape-shifting percussion on “Too Soon, Too Late” adds as much melody as Warren Ellis’s swooping violin lines and Mick Turner’s ringing guitar. As one track melds into the next, Cinder feels less like discrete tracks and more like a river of song bearing you effortlessly from one sublime moment to the next.