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Product Description
Review
Once in a while, an album turns up which just gobsmacks you with its originality and unexpectedness. Rachel Unthank & The Winterset's Cruel Sister (2005) was an outstanding debut but its successor is on a different plane altogether: The Bairns inhabits some other dimension in which four young women channel the genius loci of England's North-East into a hauntingly uplifting aural experience.
The band's unique sound revolves around Rachel and Becky Unthank's unaffected, richly regional voices but it's a true ensemble, with Niopha Keegan's fiddle soaring or weeping on demand and much of the power stemming from the absolute conviction of Belinda O'Hooley's dashingly versatile piano playing.
It's an album with a cinematic quality, huge in dramatic atmosphere. Passages of blazing grandeur switch to phrases so sparse and spooky you can see the tumbleweed blowing by. Songs both traditional and contemporary share a commonality of spirit and tone that links new and old: O'Hooley's Whitethorn - a bruised tale of infant mortality - springs from the same well of human suffering as the trad Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk, a tipsy, whirling waltz of a song about booze and marital abuse.
Terry Conway's Fareweel Regality (a song of such moving lyrics and honest delivery that dry eyes aren't an option) sits perfectly with similarly doughty northern material (jaunty segued snippets from Northumbrian Minstrelsy; the tense, dialect-laden Felton Lonnin). Equally epic are Robert Wyatt's Sea Song (an inspired inclusion with hypnotic foot percussion and spacey harmonies) and the unearthly, improvisatory Newcastle Lullaby which closes the album.
There's a real rootedness to this music, a direct line to something old - mysterious, blood-and-bones old - and a constant dance between that ancient earthiness and an approach that's totally of today. While the creative input of producer, sound engineer and manager Adrian McNally to RUTW's work is noted, there's a numinous quality to this album which is deeply matrifocal.
Live, they're fresh and funny and every bit as brilliant as this record. Folk song's all about connection and communication - gifts that are second nature for Rachel Unthank & The Winterset. --Mel Ledgard
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Product Description
Brand New Product! Ready to despatch in 2-5 business days worldwide international delivery. Established seller since 1999.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By G. Thomas
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
To tell the truth there is very little I can add that hasn't already been said by those reviewers more knowledgeable and eloquent. Most here obviously feel the same way I do about this music Still there is something about "The Bairns" that creates a need to share my delight.
I discovered this album as part of my annual buying of the "Mercury Prize shortlist". Suffice to say all of the others have already faded away into the background and pall in comparison to this exquisite piece of work.
I remember the Guardian blabbing on about The Winterset when this was released but did the shameful "folk: I don't really do folk" thing and ignored it. My embarrassment at that earlier narrowness of vision is luckily smothered by my sheer joy of finally discovering what I was missing.
Let me start by saying that I have never heard anything like this before. This is something above and beyond the term "music". It's an experience that honestly transcends everything I have heard and loved in the past. As you immerse yourself in this album moments of devastating, desperate beauty emerge, entangling and drawing you further into the overriding hypnotic framework and gently rhythmic flow that flawlessly holds this exceptional work together.
This is a collection of tunes that will move you deeply, sometimes to tears, sometimes to laughter. I recently saw them live (which mere words cannot recommend strongly enough but it is, incredibly, even better live) and was somewhat relieved and amused to see other people nearby wiping away discreetly shed tears.
It was "Blackbird" and "Sea song" that initially hooked me but it was "Felton Lonnin", "Blue's Gaen Oot O'the Fashion" and especially "I Wish" that reeled me in.... Read more ›
I discovered this album as part of my annual buying of the "Mercury Prize shortlist". Suffice to say all of the others have already faded away into the background and pall in comparison to this exquisite piece of work.
I remember the Guardian blabbing on about The Winterset when this was released but did the shameful "folk: I don't really do folk" thing and ignored it. My embarrassment at that earlier narrowness of vision is luckily smothered by my sheer joy of finally discovering what I was missing.
Let me start by saying that I have never heard anything like this before. This is something above and beyond the term "music". It's an experience that honestly transcends everything I have heard and loved in the past. As you immerse yourself in this album moments of devastating, desperate beauty emerge, entangling and drawing you further into the overriding hypnotic framework and gently rhythmic flow that flawlessly holds this exceptional work together.
This is a collection of tunes that will move you deeply, sometimes to tears, sometimes to laughter. I recently saw them live (which mere words cannot recommend strongly enough but it is, incredibly, even better live) and was somewhat relieved and amused to see other people nearby wiping away discreetly shed tears.
It was "Blackbird" and "Sea song" that initially hooked me but it was "Felton Lonnin", "Blue's Gaen Oot O'the Fashion" and especially "I Wish" that reeled me in.... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Having first come across the Unthanks when they performed "Blue Bleezin'...." at the Mercury awards, I hankered after this CD for some time. The only thing preventing my buying it earlier was that I don't consider myself in any way a "folkie".
Finally, having made the decision to buy, this wonderful CD has not been off my player since, even being played on repeat. The combination of evocative vocals with varied and sometimes quirky arrangement brings individuality to each song and with an emotion to pull the heart strings this way and that and then both ways at once.
Uplifting, harrowing, charming, joyous, wistful.....and much more. I can't wait to extend my collection with their other works.
Finally, having made the decision to buy, this wonderful CD has not been off my player since, even being played on repeat. The combination of evocative vocals with varied and sometimes quirky arrangement brings individuality to each song and with an emotion to pull the heart strings this way and that and then both ways at once.
Uplifting, harrowing, charming, joyous, wistful.....and much more. I can't wait to extend my collection with their other works.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I cannot praise this album highly enough. It encompasses every mood from ecstatic joy to deep sorrow, and leaves you feeling warm and funny inside. There's something about the Unthanks' voices, and the way they interweave, that is profoundly moving. Note the uplifting compassion, the sense of humour and the almost journalistic realism that informs this stunning song cycle. All human experience is here. The music is beautiful and the voices even more so. If you are feeling jaded by music, give The Bairns a listen.
You don't need to like (or know anything about) 'folk music' to enjoy this record. The Unthanks are even more captivating live. See them while you can.
You don't need to like (or know anything about) 'folk music' to enjoy this record. The Unthanks are even more captivating live. See them while you can.
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By M. Ash
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
I'd eyed this CD up a few times until I finally got round to listening to some samples on the band's MySpace page, after which I went out and purchased the album. Firstly, this isn't a CD which rewards instantly if you do the quick flick throught the tracks that so many of us do when we get a pile of new discs, and its much better for it. Take the time to sit and listen to this properly and by half way through the first track you won't be able to switch it off until the last notes have played. This is folk at its absolute very best, performed in imaginative arrangements and covering the full gamut of life as only folk music can really do. It is nice too to see a Robert Wyatt song appearing on this CD as evidence that Unthank is interested not only in exploring traditional folk tales and tunes but also in extending the folk repertoire to include the best of new(ish) songwriting. Don't hesitate to buy this. It is wonderful.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By PeterE
Format:Audio CD
I first heard the Unthank sisters on the BBC 'Folk on the BBC' programme broadcast this xmas (many times)on BBC4. Their music and voices blew me away and so I decided to buy their album the 'Bairns'. At first I thought it a little dreary and slow, but after listening to it a few times and really concentrating on the music I became a huge fan. You don't have to be a Geordie to enjoy their haunting Northumberland songs, this music is univesal and they should have more recognition for their talent.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's dark. Let's get that out of the way first - the songs range in subject from domestic abuse through infant mortality to being stuck at home while your husband is out hunting whales. Even the cheerier-sounding tunes such as 'Blackbird' have a darker edge to them, and minor keys abound.
What this album does, though, is get things back to basics, and do it right. At the heart of the tunes are the two voices of Rachel and Becky Unthank, and they are allowed to take centre stage. They are very different voices, Rachel's being stronger, I think, but harder, while Becky's is reedier and more expressive, but to be honest, the truth of the matter is that the two voices work excellently together - the songs are filled with multiple-part harmonies that are a joy to listen to.
That's not to say, of course, that the instrumentation is in any way lacking - it's spare, in a way that only the most confident can manage; at no point are the instruments fighting the voices - the two parts of each song work perfectly together. When the voices are taking centre stage the music supports them, and when the instrumentalists are allowed free reign (as on 'My Donald'), the result is absolutely gorgeous.
in short, then, this is one of the most beautiful CDs that I've bought for a long time, and in the few months I've owned it, I've managed to fall thoroughly in love with the Unthank sisters.
What this album does, though, is get things back to basics, and do it right. At the heart of the tunes are the two voices of Rachel and Becky Unthank, and they are allowed to take centre stage. They are very different voices, Rachel's being stronger, I think, but harder, while Becky's is reedier and more expressive, but to be honest, the truth of the matter is that the two voices work excellently together - the songs are filled with multiple-part harmonies that are a joy to listen to.
That's not to say, of course, that the instrumentation is in any way lacking - it's spare, in a way that only the most confident can manage; at no point are the instruments fighting the voices - the two parts of each song work perfectly together. When the voices are taking centre stage the music supports them, and when the instrumentalists are allowed free reign (as on 'My Donald'), the result is absolutely gorgeous.
in short, then, this is one of the most beautiful CDs that I've bought for a long time, and in the few months I've owned it, I've managed to fall thoroughly in love with the Unthank sisters.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a cracking album
If you like the Unthanks, you should like this album. Quirky, yes, accomplished, undoubtedly, but has that certain something that moves beyond folk towards ambient. Great stuff.
Published 2 months ago by psafloyd
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bleak
I like the odd track - I need to play it a bit more yet - but the first play of it didn't grab me. Somewhat tuneless!
Published 4 months ago by jane willett
5.0 out of 5 stars
the bairns Rachel unthank and the winterset
I started listening to the unthanks on the radio I think this is one of there best albums it covers everything you expect from a folk album ,happy,sad,traditional. Read more
Published 5 months ago by miss g santer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Larn yessel Geordie
Not for the first time has Northumberland produced its own folk music-Owen Brannigan is the most obvious
But this isn't Steeleye Span or Kathryn Tickell or When the boat comes... Read more
But this isn't Steeleye Span or Kathryn Tickell or When the boat comes... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Richard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Folk
Ignore the anti things that have been written about the unthank sisters. Good folk music tuned into the present all four albums in my collection and all loved.
Published 23 months ago by Darren Dean
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Bairns by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset
I really like this album and especially the poignant Whitehorn track and I like the way that the music is given a unique style in the way that the Unthanks have written their own... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2010 by Ellie
2.0 out of 5 stars
music to cry to
Good God! Did nothing joyful happen in the land of my birth?! I was hankering after a little Northumbrian nostalgia and ordered this. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2010 by Short Read
2.0 out of 5 stars
the bairns
A bit disappointing as the traacks were on the whole a bit to 'black' for my taste
Published on 14 Jan 2010 by Mrs. S. Winn
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Grit
This is a unique album - resolutely modern but built on tradition. It conjures up a set of impressions; fingers blue with cold, bleak seascapes, the daily struggle against and... Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2009 by I. McDonell
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not great
The prevailing view is that this is a five-star album. Having played it quite a few times, I don't think it really merits those five stars. Read more
Published on 12 July 2009 by Bailie Nicol Jarvie
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