CD Review – The Unthanks
Last
Rough Trade Records
When you have fans like Radiohead, Ben Folds, Portishead and Elvis Costello, people start to take notice; and they should. The Unthank sisters (Rachel and Becky and yes, Unthank is their God-given last name) have figured out how to make melancholy piano-based dreary-folk that fits their surname perfectly. With tracks like “Give Away Your Heart” and the soul-tugging Tom Waits cover “No One Knows I’m Gone,” The Unthanks fourth album continues on their themes of heartbreak and death, similar to The Decemberists, but without the odd instrumentations.
Formerly known as Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, The Mercury Prize nominees The Unthanks have created, yet again a brilliant (if not depressing) folk album that is one of the top albums of 2011.
