The Unthanks at The Stanley Theatre, Liverpool. 7th April 2011.

The UnthanksStanley Theatre
7th April
The Unthanks are a Northumbrian folk group centered around two sisters - Rachel and Becky Unthank. Formed in 2004, they also include former manager (and now husband of Becky) Adrian McNally on piano, Niopha Keegan, viola/backing vocals and finally Chris Price on bass, guitars and ukelele. Beginning life as Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, the band that started out playing small village festivals have gone on to gain considerable notoreity and numerous awards before shortening their name to incorperate Rachel in 2009. Debut album Cruel Sister was awarded Mojo magazine's Folk Album Of The Year award and earnt critical appraisal as well as a decent amount of radio exposure, by folk standards.
Tonight they entered the stage in jovial spirits, with Rachel looking healthily and heavily pregnant. Chatty throughout, the band conversed in strong Northumberland accents and brought the crowd in for what turned out to be an intimate and buoyant show, making the Stanley Theatre feel a whole lot smaller than it actually is. Dealing in Folk music of an earthy, rootsy nature, they come across as being traditionalists in the form. So much so that towards the end of the set, Becky treated the fans to mid-ditty clog-dancing. This faithful approach delivers delicate vocally-led harmonies, often with sparse arrangements but also supported on several songs by a live strings section. The Unthank sisters' voices complement eachother beautifully and Rachel in particular brings to mind the calm and serenity of Joanna Newsom. On the night, they were largely showcasing their fourth and newest long player - Last. Despite being released in 2011, Last somehow manages to sound not only comfortably older than any of the band but also older than the very threatre housing their sound and maybe even older than the Northumberland hills the Unthanks sisters themselves hail from.
There is a haunting quality to most of their work, and songs such as Gan To The Kye give off an aura of ancient mysticism, thanks largely to McNally's eerie piano work. You get the impression though that the sisters' vocals alone are intriguing and powerful enough to fill any size room, even without an instrument in sight. Lyrically, the theme is often of love lost and broken hearts, the usual fare really but somehow it all seems so ancient and epic. This si given sharp contrast by the fact they continue with their warm wit between songs and this serves to give respite from the deceptively dark and often harrowing effect many of the songs have. Take Lucky Gilchrist, written by McNally about a friend that passed away. Again bolstered and layered by strings and piano, it is deeply moving almost to the point of being emotionally sapping - beautiful.
Pete Robinson