The Unthanks | ||
| Allmusic Biography : One of the premier English folk groups of the early 21st century, the Unthanks -- the surname of siblings Rachel and Becky -- present a dynamic mix of old and new, trafficking in elements of traditional Northumbrian folk music, classical, jazz, and pop. The group emerged in 2004 under the name Rachel Unthank & the Winterset and released a pair of well-received albums (2005s Cruel Sister and 2007s The Bairns), before officially adopting the Unthanks moniker in 2009. Since then, the core trio of Rachel, Becky, and the formers husband Adrian McNally, who is also the groups manager, musical arranger, and producer, have issued a string of acclaimed releases, including 2011s Last and 2015s Mount the Air, as well as a popular series of idiosyncratic live recordings that have covered everyone from Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons to Molly Drake. Founded in 2004 by sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank, the duo expanded to a quartet with the additions of pianist Belinda OHooley and viola player Jackie Oates. Operating as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset, their 2005 debut, Cruel Sister, garnered significant attention from the U.K. press. However, it was 2007s The Bairns that catapulted them to cult stardom. The record was nominated for a prestigious Mercury Prize (alongside the likes of Radiohead) and attracted devout praise by everyone from Antony of Antony & the Johnsons to Robert Wyatt, both of whom the group would cover in their later incarnation. With a slightly different lineup in place -- one that featured Rachels husband, pianist Adrian McNally, as well as fiddler Niopha Keegan and guitarist Chris Price -- they began operating under the Unthanks moniker and released their debut album, Heres the Tender Coming. Garnering heavy praise in Europe, it was named one of 2009s best releases by Mojo, the Guardian, and Uncut. After touring heavily in support of the album, the Unthanks returned to Rachel and Adrian McNallys Northumberland home to record another batch of songs. Released in 2011, the resulting Last earned similar acclaim, and saw the group marrying the trad-folk predilections of previous outings with a more contemporary approach. The following year saw the release of the groups first live recordings, Diversions, Vol. 1: The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons: Live from the Union Chapel, London, Diversions, Vol.2: The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, and Diversions, Vol. 3: Songs from the Shipyards. Mount the Air, the outfits first studio album in four years, arrived in early 2015 and continued to mine both the past and the present for inspiration. 2017 marked a return to the groups Diversions series with The Songs and Poems of Molly Drake, which saw the band delivering a set of recordings that chronicled the works of the mother of British folk icon Nick Drake. In February 2019, the group issued an ambitious trilogy of short albums that they coined "medium players." Titled Lines, Vols. 1–3, the set covered the 1968 trawler disaster in Kingston upon Hull (Lines Part One: Lillian Bilocca), the First World War (Lines Part Two: World War One), and the poetry of Emily Brontë (Lines Part Three: Emily Brontë). | ||
 | Album: 1 of 10 Title: Here’s the Tender Coming Released: 2009-09-14 Tracks: 12 Duration: 54:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Because He Was a Bonny Lad (02:36) 2 Sad February (04:36) 3 Annachie Gordon (08:15) 4 Lucky Gilchrist (04:51) 5 The Testimony of Patience Kershaw (04:05) 6 Living by the Water (06:08) 7 Where’ve Yer Bin Dick? (00:47) 8 Nobody Knew She Was There (05:53) 9 Flowers of the Town (03:05) 10 Not Much Luck in Our House (00:47) 11 At First She Starts (03:38) 12 Here’s the Tender Coming / Betsy Bell (09:43) |
| Here’s the Tender Coming : Allmusic album Review : It could have been commercial suicide. In the wake of a breakthrough success, Rachel Unthank & the Winterset have not only changed the bands name to the more encompassing and curate the Unthanks, theyve also made huge personnel changes. Its certainly not a strategy a marketing man would recommend, but this is a band thats always been about the art, not the commercial success. The basis remains folk music from the Northeast of England, and the fuller sound of a nine-piece band changes the backing and fills it out splendidly, with bass and drums giving a firm foundation. The focus on the singing of sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank is, if anything, firmer than before, and nowhere is that clearer than on the harrowing "The Testimony of Patience Kershaw," about child labor in the Victorian mines, or the heartbreaking beauty of the traditional "Annachie Gordon." However, although theres plenty of gloom and doom on this disc, its leavened by some lighter spots, such as "Betsy Belle." For the most part, it works, the only real failure coming with a cover of Lal Watersons "At First She Starts," a piece so personal that outsiders trying to find a way into it are largely doomed -- but its a brave attempt, and says a lot about the scope and confidence of the group. Musically, theres much greater richness and variety in the arrangements now, heightening the shadings that have always been there, and bringing them to the fore, while also making it easier for a wider audience. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 10 Title: Lucky Gilchrist / Tar Barrel in Dale Released: 2009-11-29 Tracks: 3 Duration: 13:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Lucky Gilchrist (single edit) (03:31) 2 Tar Barrel in Dale (live) (03:52) 3 Sexy Sadie (06:24) |
 | Album: 3 of 10 Title: A Retrospective Released: 2011-01-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 55:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Because He Was a Bonny Lad (02:36) 2 Felton Lonnin (07:21) 3 The Testimony of Patience Kershaw (04:05) 4 Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk (05:13) 5 Blues Gaen oot o the Fashion (04:30) 6 Fair Rosamund (02:56) 7 Annachie Gordon (08:15) 8 Lucky Gilchrist (04:51) 9 Heres the Tender Coming (05:22) 10 Bonny at Morn (04:15) 11 Fareweel Regality (06:20) |
 | Album: 4 of 10 Title: Last Released: 2011-03-14 Tracks: 11 Duration: 49:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Gan to the Kye (05:39) 2 The Gallowgate Lad (06:06) 3 Queen of Hearts (04:32) 4 Last (07:09) 5 Give Away Your Heart (03:49) 6 No One Knows I’m Gone (02:11) 7 My Laddie Sits Ower Late Up (02:45) 8 Canny Hobbie Elliott (03:28) 9 Starless (06:00) 10 Close the Coalhouse Door (07:02) 11 Last (reprise) (00:57) |
| Last : Allmusic album Review : The second album from the Unthanks (third if you include the early effort they recorded with a different lineup as Rachel Unthank & the Winterset), Last is a striking fusion of British folk music with austere, arty pop, featuring adventurous arrangements and dynamics that recall acts like Tindersticks, Sufjan Stevens, and American Music Club. The vocals by Rachel Unthank and her sister Becky Unthank are beautiful and executed with an impressive skill and unaffected emotional force, and the spare but powerful arrangements, usually built around piano and a small string section, give this music a subtle majesty, dramatically forceful without grandstanding. The group has gathered a diverse range of material for these sessions, including traditional British folk numbers, songs by contemporary songwriters ranging from Jon Redfern to Tom Waits, and even a cover of King Crimsons "Starless," but the Unthanks manage to make all of it sound like their own work, transforming these ten songs into a seamless whole as the often dour tones of the tunes cohere into something dark yet strangely gorgeous. With the measured tempos, subtle musical backings, and ethereal vocals by the Unthank sisters, Last suggests British folks answer to Lows Secret Name, but just as on that fine album, this is music that doesnt wallow in sadness or troubled moods for its own sake, but as an exploration of how the tragic often carries the same weight as the joyous in the human heart. Last is not the sort of music youll want to play at a party on a Friday night, but if youre looking for the proper accompaniment as you ponder lifes twists and turns on a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Unthanks will give you all the deeply shaded wisdom you could use. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 10 Title: Diversions, Volume 2: The Unthanks With Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band Released: 2012-07-30 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:13:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The King of Rome (07:39) 2 Trimdon Grange Explosion (06:29) 3 George (03:26) 4 The Happiness or Otherwise of Society (Jack Elliott) (01:27) 5 The Fathers Song (05:58) 6 George II (04:08) 7 My Lagan Love (04:24) 8 Queen of Hearts (03:56) 9 Gan to the Kye (05:49) 10 Felton Lonnin (07:27) 11 Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk (05:41) 12 Newcastle Lullaby (06:12) 13 Gresford (The Miners Hymn) (04:30) 14 Farweel Regality (06:19) |
 | Album: 6 of 10 Title: Diversions, Volume 3: Songs From the Shipyards Released: 2012-11-05 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Romantic Tees (Prelude) (01:33) 2 A Great North River (03:41) 3 Black Trade (04:36) 4 Fairfield Crane (01:53) 5 Big Steamers (05:20) 6 All in a Day (03:25) 7 The Romantic Tees (09:43) 8 Shipbuilding (03:46) 9 Monkey Dung Man (02:07) 10 Taking on Men (01:27) 11 Only Remembered (03:56) |
 | Album: 7 of 10 Title: Mount the Air Released: 2015-02-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:01:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mount the Air (10:34) 2 Madam (04:56) 3 Died for Love (03:50) 4 Flutter (03:38) 5 Magpie (05:07) 6 Foundling (10:52) 7 Last Lullaby (05:58) 8 Hawthorn (04:24) 9 For Dad (04:42) 10 The Poor Stranger (04:05) 11 Waiting (03:00) |
| Mount the Air : Allmusic album Review : Mournful, elegant, melancholy, and mysterious, the Northumbrian family act is most certainly not a party band; rather their singular blend of traditional folk and jazz-tinged, Celtic-infused pop is tailor-made for those for whom soft rolls of thunder and deep grey skies are a balm to the cruel tempo of the extroverted life. Fresh off of a trio of excellent, largely conceptual live recordings that found the Unthanks taking on the songs of Antony & the Johnsons and Robert Wyatt, collaborating with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, and exploring the regions rich tradition of seafaring, the group returns with their first studio effort since 2011s Last. Like its predecessor, Mount the Air is a dark storeroom of soft, piano-led balladry peppered with tasteful flourishes of upright bass, soft brush work, and spectral horns and strings, but its also a far more ambitious outing, sporting two epic ten-minute pieces that flirt with experimental ambient pop grandeur. The first, an original piece built around the opening verse of the traditional folk ballad "Ill Mount the Air on Swallows Wings," is a rich ballad that builds to a sweeping and surprisingly propulsive string-laden crescendo thats anchored by Becky and Rachel Unthanks expressive voices, while the second, the lush "Foundling," dials up the groups more theatrical leanings. Elsewhere the intriguing and (almost) radio-ready "Flutter" flirts with Portishead-inspired trip-hop, and the band plays it straight on a lovely rendering of the traditional folk standard "The Poor Stranger," but as per usual, its the Unthanks acumen for crafting highly refined overcast ballads that ultimately wins out, and some of us are all the better for it. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 10 Title: Archive Treasures (2005-2015) Released: 2015-12-11 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:16:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 2000 Miles (02:04) 2 On a Monday Morning (04:48) 3 I Wish, I Wish (06:54) 4 Blue Bleezin Blind Drunk (05:25) 5 Close the Coalhouse Door (07:55) 6 Alifib/Alifie (09:27) 7 The Gallowgate Lad (05:53) 8 Felton Lonnin (BBC Radio 1 Rob da Bank session, broadcast 2010-03-13) (05:08) 9 Tar Barrel in Dale (BBC Radio 2 Radcliffe and Maconie session, broadcast 2014-12-19) (03:53) 10 Queen of Hearts (alt demo 2009) (05:27) 11 Sexy Sadie (06:24) 12 A Dream of a Tree in a Spanish Graveyard (from Harbour of Songs 2012) (03:02) 13 Oak, Ash and Thorn (06:18) 14 The Unthank Family Band (03:59) |
 | Album: 9 of 10 Title: Diversions, Vol. 4: The Songs and Poems of Molly Drake Released: 2017-05-26 Tracks: 15 Duration: 50:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 What Can A Song Do To You? (04:50) 2 Dream Your Dreams (02:06) 3 Martha (00:59) 4 How Wild the Wind Blows (02:50) 5 Little Weaver Bird (04:16) 6 Bird In the Blue (03:25) 7 The Road To The Stars (03:23) 8 Set Me Free (04:09) 9 Woods In May (01:59) 10 I Remember (04:03) 11 Never Pine For The Old Love (04:32) 12 The Shell (00:58) 13 Soft Shelled Crabs (02:44) 14 Do You Ever Remember? (03:09) 15 The First Day (07:10) |
| Diversions, Vol. 4: The Songs and Poems of Molly Drake : Allmusic album Review : The fourth installment in the eclectic English folk groups fascinating Diversions series (previous entries have dissected the music and styles of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons, working-class marching bands, and Englands history of shipbuilding), Diversions, Vol. 4: The Songs and Poems of Molly Drake sees the Unthanks covering a selection of works by the mother of one of British folks greatest exports, Nick Drake. Molly Drake, who was a huge musical influence on her son, never released any of her home recordings during her lifetime, though an eponymous compilation of her songs and poems was issued in 2013 via Squirrel Thing Records. Like Nick, Molly was a deft weaver of atmosphere, and her words and music lend themselves well to the Unthanks particular brand of spectral, contemporary English folk music -- much of the poetry and spoken word bits were performed by Mollys daughter Gabrielle. Minimal, yet brimming over with emotions both bright and dulled by pain and loss, the 15-track set is a marvel of restraint and refinement, with Rachel and Becky Unthanks otherworldly voices accompanied only by piano and violin. The songs themselves, which Drake wrote and recorded during the 50s, are very much of their time, postcards of a cautiously hopeful post-war Britain, peppered with nostalgia and open to despair. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 10 Title: Lines Released: 2018 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:16:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Lillian (Prelude) (00:49) 2 A Whistling Woman (05:59) 3 The Sea Is a Woman (05:54) 4 Lonesome Cowboy (04:48) 5 Lillian II (The Banqueting Hall Scene) (04:40) 1 Roland and Vera (07:07) 2 Everyone Song (03:04) 3 War Film (02:33) 4 Breakfast (02:06) 5 Suicide in the Trenches (02:33) 6 Socks (03:39) 1 The Parsonage (00:43) 2 Shall Earth No More Inspire Thee (03:37) 3 High Waving Heather (02:07) 4 She Dried Her Tears and They Did Smile (01:48) 5 The Night Is Darkening Round Me (05:38) 6 Deep Deep Down in the Silent Grave (02:43) 7 Lines (07:01) 8 Remembrance (04:34) 9 O Evening Why (03:41) 10 Im Happiest When Most Away (01:20) |