(Rabble Rouser/Shock)  

Mercury-nominated folkies Rachel Unthank & The Winterset return with new name and new album 

Northumberland folk outfit Unthanks celebrate their new moniker with this blend of olde worlde authenticity, hallucinatory ambience and quirky pop touches. Here’s The Tender Coming is actually quite a lot to take in, its hour of layered arrangements and sweetly unsettling melodies a sometimes-frustrating experience with its ‘hey nonny nonny’-isms (not helped by Rachel Unthank’s partial resemblance to the permanently ethereal Cate Blanchett). It’s when the group goes for the surprise element that the album gets into gear. Uncredited track Betsy Bell is a bit of a jaunty knees-up throwaway, but it’s possibly the most fun four minutes on the whole record.  I think it’s the tap-dance solo that seals it. Other highlights include the almost Bat For Lashes pop daffiness of Lucky Gilchrist and the subtly building shimmer of Annachie Gordon. When they sit about like ‘real ale’ drinkers on a Sunday afternoon and leisurely pluck at their acoustic instruments, Unthanks are at their least convincing. When the group transcend their instrumentation and lock into more radical textures and sounds, the album soars. They just need to let go more.

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MATT THROWER 

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