The Unthanks: Here's the Tender Coming (Shock) 
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Acclaimed Geordie folkies Rachel Unthank and the Winterset have a new name, with Rachel's sister Becky getting equal billing, but they're still delivering an absorbing, affecting mix of traditional numbers and originals.
The old stuff featured here is heavy on childhood favourites – Annachie Gordon, Flowers of the Town and particularly The Testimony of Patience Kershaw, which boldly brings the horrors of Victorian child labour into the modern age without being depressing.
The originals also hit home – the light-hearted Lucky Gilchrist, a 7/4 string-drenched memorial for a dead friend, and Ewan MacColl's Nobody Knew She Was There, a tribute to hard-working cleaners everywhere.
The sparse accompaniment – simple piano, accordion, strings and percussion – gives the sisters' splendid voices plenty of room to move, and occasionally helps to lighten the mood. Full of beauty, mood and emotion, this is one to treasure.
Best tracks: The Testimony of Patience Kershaw, At First She Starts.
- Reviewed by Nick Ward; CDs for review supplied by Everyman, Nelson.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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