Dirty Old Man River...

After the Chicago based Drunk Tank came to an end around 1992 or so, Julian Mills went on to form the even darker and dirge driven Dirty Old Man River not long after. While the band was together they released three pretty solid albums (Self-Titled, The Saddest Movie Screen, and Ageless respectively) through Radial Records. Interestingly enough, joining Mills for the last two albums was Ben Miller (brother of Mission of Burma’s Roger Miller) on stereo pre-prepared guitar.

While Dirty Old Man River traveled down the same dark murky paths of that of Mills’ previous band, they were still two completely different beasts. This wasn’t the same raucous guitar attack that Drunk Tank was. Still though, one of the center points of the band was the raspy and chilling grate of Mills’ vocals. However, picture those to the backdrop of a menacing piano and the random clinks and buzzes, that of which remind you of the sounds that a larger older house makes when you’re sitting alone in it late at night trying to convince yourself it’s nothing but the house itself. Dirty Old Man River operated on the same level of “spooky” I suppose. Doing away with most melody in favor of the tension mounting random oddball noises and bringing together the seedy red lighted sound of a late hours dive bar. Dirty Old Man River is essentially what “creepy” music should sound like. It’s basically every long drunken walk home alone in the dark you’ve ever taken…

Dirty Old Man River:
Dirty Old Man River – Katy Did [MP3]

The Saddest Movie Screen:
Dirty Old Man River – Ghosts on the River [MP3]

Ageless:
Dirty Old Man River – One More Round [MP3]

For those looking to pick up any of the releases from Dirty Old Man River, I believe all three of the albums are still available through Amazon, both used and new. So definitely pick one, two, or all three of these if you enjoy what you here!