The Unthanks In Winter

Described as ‘the gold standard’ of all winter records alongside Frost and Fire by The Watersons in a five star review from the Times, The Unthanks In Winter is a dream-like winter fantasia, embracing both the dark and the light in the most ritualistic of seasons. Moving in and out of focus, like a memory, In Winter is a bittersweet hymnal to our shared winter experience. It’s an extensive, completist time-capsule of the season, featuring Christmas tunes known throughout the world from multiple cultures, mixed with the traditional and the newly written, all passed with great care and love through The Unthanks filter. In Winter has been described as “an artful triumph” (Songlines), “a massive statement” (Klof), “the definitive folk album for winter” (TradFolk), “the essence of winter in all its emotional complexity” (Fatea), “an absolute gem and one of the finest albums the Unthanks have given us yet” (Narc), “truly beautiful music, full of winter chill and familial warmth“ (Buzz), “As breathtaking as freezing air” (The Telegraph), “a rare beast that transcends the notion of a Christmas album” (Silent Radio), “the familiar made strange (The Wire) and “a timeless celebration of winter. One of the few albums of its type to transcend its limited purpose.” (Record Collector). In their typical magpie style, The Unthanks collect and reimagine, at once unique and familiar, inventive but natural and effortless. Hear a Tyneside band playing a German Christmas song in the style of The Beach Boys; a Spanish carol performed by English folkies through the filter of Tom Waits; a French carol given desert-blues menace, a newly written tribute to the NHS to the tune of O Holy Night; a wintry opening piece inspired by A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten; traditional wassails and old stories coloured with folk noir and traces of Vincent Guaraldi’s Merry Christmas Charlie Brown. In Winter is a world in itself, capturing the warmth and nostalgia of the festive season, the chill and darkness of the winter months, and the reflective ritualisms of the turn of the year; the end and beginning of the circle of life.

Venue: Cambridge Corn Exchange.

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