The Bairns is an unsual album to listen to, taking you on (for lack of any better comparison) a roller-coaster of emotion, from the first track to the last. With haunting voices and perfect harmonies, Rachel Unthank and The Winterset, a quartet comprising two extremely talented sisters and ... Read review
Advantages: Traditional, varied Disadvantages: Some tracks almost too short
The Bairns is an unsual album to listen to, taking you on (for lack of any better comparison) a roller-coaster of emotion, from the first track to the last. With haunting voices and perfect harmonies, Rachel Unthank and The Winterset, a quartet comprising two extremely talented sisters and their friends hailing from the North-east of England, deliver a provoking, if not flawless, catalogue of traditional folk pieces. Particularly interesting are ... ...pieces of music.
For example, I Wish, I Wish, which has been covered by many artists in the past, predominantly Kate Rusby's more upbeat take, has been turned into a melancholy, heart-breaking melody much more suited to the lyrics being sung. They also include a collection of "Lulls" which vary from 20 second accapella songs to the 7 minute variation offered at the end of album, with complex vocal harmonies and instrumental ... more
The Bairns is an unsual album to listen to, taking you on (for lack of any better comparison) a roller-coaster of emotion, from the first track to the last. With haunting voices and perfect harmonies, Rachel Unthank and The Winterset, a quartet comprising two extremely talented sisters and their friends hailing from the North-east of England, deliver a provoking, if not flawless, catalogue of traditional folk pieces. Particularly interesting are their inclusion of well known tracks, transformed into almost unfamiliar pieces of music.
For example, I Wish, I Wish, which has been covered by many artists in the past, predominantly Kate Rusby's more upbeat take, has been turned into a melancholy, heart-breaking melody much more suited to the lyrics being sung. They also include a collection of "Lulls" which vary from 20 second accapella songs to the 7 minute variation offered at the end of album, with complex vocal harmonies and instrumental backing.
A very worthy album from a very worthy band. It is a shame they did not win The Mercury Music Prize - but who knows what will happen in the future?
Product Information for "Bairns, The - Rachel Unthank & The Winterset" »
Product details
Title
Bairns, The
Performer
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
Genre
Folk
Sub Genre
British Folk
Release Date
20/08/2007
Original Release Year
2007
Label / Distributor
Rabble Rouser / EMI Operations/CEVA Logistics
Guest Artist(s)
Unthank, Rachel & The Winterset
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Format
Performer
EAN
5099950438020
Catalogue Number
5043802
Additional notes
Album Notes
Second album, following 2005's 'Cruel Sister', from cult Northumbrian all-female folk quartet, which found itself in many critics' lists as one of the best albums of 2007 and is nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize. Bewitching, haunting and melancholy, the album absorbs and transcends the folk idiom, its mostly beatless songs buoyed and given an almost classical beauty by the plangent strings of the Northern Sinfonia.
Titles on disc 1
1.
Felton Lonnin
2.
Lull I
3.
Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk
4.
I Wish
5.
Blue's Gaen Oot O'the Fashion
6.
Lull II (My Lad's A Canny Lad)
7.
Blackbird
8.
Lull III (A Minor Place)
9.
Sea Song
10.
Whitethorn
11.
Lull IV (Can't Stop It Raining)
12.
My Donald
13.
Ma Bonny Lad
14.
Fareweel Regality
15.
Newcastle Lullaby
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
14/08/2007
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