new album by THE UNTHANKS in April 10 Feb 2011

THE UNTHANKS present Last – set for release on April 19th

Rachel and Becky Unthank are sisters, and yes – that really is their last name. They are from Northumberland, which is a county in the north east of England. Scheduled for release in the US by Rough Trade on April 19th, Last is their fourth album…and despite the name, won’t be their last. Formerly known as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset, their Mercury nominated 2007 album The Bairns was the only British folk album in both the The Guardian and Uncut’s best albums of the decade. They followed it in 2009 with Here's The Tender Coming. Their many outspoken fans include Radiohead, Portishead, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Elvis Costello, Damon Albarn, Ewan McGregor, Nick Hornby and more.

On Last, The Unthanks continue their predilection for unlikely covers, with interpretations of King Crimson’s “Starless”, Tom Waits’ “No One Knows I’m Gone”, and a song intended to champion the unheralded British songwriter Jon Redfern.

“They are like the morning dew that hasn’t steamed off yet, they are fresh and new and I really don’t think they know how good they are”
-Robert Wyatt

“this contemporary folk ensemble makes a breathtaking chamber music of olde English mystery, and bold original adaptations of traditional sources and early British folk-revival covers. An incredible sting-and-singing band.”
-Rolling Stone

Track listing:
1. Gan To The Kye (Trad / arr. The Unthanks)
2. The Gallowgate Lad (words: Joe Wilson tune: trad [Sally Grey] / arr. The Unthanks)
3. Queen Of Hearts (Trad / arr. The Unthanks)
4. Last (Adrian McNally)
5. Give Away Your Heart (Jon Redfern)
6. No One Knows I’m Gone (Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan)
7. My Laddie Sites Ower Late Up (Trad/ arr. The Unthanks)
8. Canny Hobbie Elliot (Trad / arr. The Unthanks)
9. Starless (Cross/Fripp/Wetton/Palmer-James)
10. Close The Coalhouse Door (Alex Glasgow)
11. Last (reprise)

The Unthanks is: Rachel Unthank, Becky Unthank, Niopha Keegan, Adrian McNally and Chris Price.