Oh, instrumental music. It's undergoing a rebirth in the indie scene, thankfully, and this is prime time to jump on the bandwagon. You've got your GYBE!, you've got your Mogwai, and you've got the Dirty Three. Incidentally, none of these are American bands. Dirty Three hail from Australia, and are "in good" with fellow Aussie Nick Cave; they've been playing in his band on the most recent tour. Not surprisingly, D3 is a three piece: guitar, violin, and drums. Warren Ellis' violin is the centerpiece and carries the nine songs on Horse Stories. While I haven't heard the entirety of the band's catalog, this release is their most critically-acclaimed, and comes highly recommended from this reviewer as well. "Hope" is a beautiful track, summing up its title perfectly, while "At the Bar" does the same for its moniker. The band even shows some versatility, with the jumbled, noisy, distorted "Red", and injects some vocal color into the lovely "Horse". All in all, fans of weeping, quasi-painful instrumental rock (and most importantly, the violin), should definitely give this album a listen. 1. 1000 Miles
2. Sue's Last Ride
3. Hope
4. I Remember A Time When You Used To Love Me
5. At The Bar
6. Red
7. Warren's Lament
8. Horse
9. I Knew It Would Come To This
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