Music: The Unthanks

The folk-based phenomenon are back in town with a fantastic new album to sing about, as Jeff Hemmings explores

The Unthanks, sisters Rachel and Becky, were at the outset an almost purely traditional folk outfit, re-arranging and covering songs written by persons unknown and largely steeped in the history of Northumbria. Their debut album Cruel Sister displayed their tremendous abilities and passion and was eventually awarded Folk Album of the Year by Mojo.

Over the years The Unthanks, along with long-time producer (and husband to Rachel Unthank) Adrian McNally, haven’t pandered to the purity of folk music, branching out to include the sisters’ love of all kinds of modern music. The Bairns, whilst still steeped in traditional music, had a cinematic quality that was timeless and became a bigger commercial success than the debut, while the follow up album, Last, continued on that adventurous trajectory, although traditional folk remains at the heart of their voices: “It’s not a dirty word anymore,” says Rachel. “I remember five years ago seeing a slogan: ‘folk is the new disco’. You know what? I knew it would be fashionable again if I waited long enough! Pop songs have been taking on the vernacular of folk – guitars and fiddles – it’s definitely more in people’s consciousness, and it’s alright to be into it.”

Between that album and the recently released fourth album, Mount The Air, they issued three further albums under the Diversions name, recordings that are based on other people’s songs such as Robert Wyatt and Anthony & The Johnsons, and re-workings of their own material with the likes of the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. And they continue to organise their own singing weekends and collaborate with other artists.
From playing purely folk-only clubs in their native north-east to hitting the big time nationally and internationally, their audiences have broadened out, enamoured and fascinated by these siblings who, despite their seven year age gap, can sing in perfect unison, their distinctive voices telepathically complementing each other and imbibing their chosen material with a deep mesmerising sadness and earthy melancholy. The fact that they indulged in a bit of clog dancing on stage only helped their cause further.

Although many of the lyrics in Mount The Air are based on traditional songs, the music is of a more contemporary, classical-meets-folk-jazz fusion, largely written by McNally. The sisters also, for the first time, bring pen to paper to write their own lyrics, a highlight being the Portishead-esque ‘Life’s A Flutter’. “Flutter has just been playlisted for 6Music, very exciting – it’s the first time we’ve been playlisted by them.”
The Unthanks say Mount The Air is an invitation to be free and weightless, to transcend reality and enter your imagination. It does that, and more.
Brighton Dome, Wed 4 March, 7.15pm, £20/17.50