Katherine Priddy's opening number is traditional English folk in the vein of tonight's headliners or the songs covered on Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer's 'Child Ballads'. Her voice is lovely, both delicate and dreamy, and the melodies are so calming that I could do with being prescribed them to help keep my blood pressure under control. 'The First House On The Left' is sparse and gentle. 'Letters From A Travelling Man' is more urgent, well as urgent as this style of folk gets anyway. I find myself reminded of Ralph McTell with some of the guitar playing. 'Eurydice' is sang in a slightly lower register and is more melancholic. It is still beautiful though. 'Does She Hold You Like I Did' is a bit more Americana influenced, and she manages to create quite a nice little groove with just a voice and guitar. Captivating.
I often think that The Unthanks' music reminds me of the darker seasons. There are the autumnal songs which sing of fading love and hope, and darker days to come. There are also the wintry songs which evoke images of bleak days and long lonely nights. Tonight, however, is a special show billed as 'The Unthanks In Winter' which will see them singing seasonal songs and carols.
The Unthank sisters enter the stage playing sleigh bells, and this heralds a dark, maudlin 'O Tannenbaum' ('O Christmas Tree'). The melancholy is provided by the violin and sax as the vocals provide small glimpses of hope. It's quite downbeat and bleak but it's very atmospheric, and when you add The Unthanks' distinctive vocals it conjures a certain magic, as demonstrated on 'Gower Wassail' (or should that be magick, as there is a pagan tone to a lot of these songs, even the religious ones). An instrumental 'The Holly And The Ivy' is surprisingly jaunty. By contrast, 'O Come All Ye Faithful' is gloomy and desolate. 'Carol Of The Birds' is chilling, whilst 'Carol Of The Beasts' is hypnotic and not dissimilar to The Swans (who I saw here earlier in the Summer), just not as loud.
Pianist Adrian McNally describes the show as two parts darkness to one part schmaltz. Unfortunately, 'Cherry Tree Carol' is way too schmaltzy for me. 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' is performed on the vibraphone and is spellbinding. 'The Snow It Melts The Soonest', sang solo by Rachel, is evocative and emotional. I found myself reminded of Nordic Giants' 'Through A Lens Darkly', which makes me think of 'The Last Breath', which in turn makes me cry. That film still haunts me. 'Leaping And Dancing' sees the traditional (for an Unthanks show) clog dancing. 'Nurse Emmanuelle' (sang to the tune of 'O Holy Night') is quite beautiful when all the voices join in. The acapella 'Tar Barrel In Dale' which closes the regular set is equally stunning.
The Unthanks ****
Katherine Priddy ****
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