Last (Unthanks album): Difference between revisions
Headhitter (talk | contribs) →Reception: + Pitchfork review (edited with ProveIt) |
Headhitter (talk | contribs) →Reception: + albums cahrt ref (edited with ProveIt) |
||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
In a five-starred review for the ''[[Sunday Express]]'', [[Martin Townsend (journalist)|Martin Townsend]] proclaimed it "a gorgeously unhurried, utterly mesmerising masterpiece".<ref name="Townsend">{{cite news | url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/234500/Album-review-The-Unthanks-Last-Rabblerouser-EMI | title=Album review – The Unthanks: Last (Rabblerouser/EMI) | work=[[Sunday Express]] | date=13 March 2011 | accessdate=24 August 2014 | author=[[Martin Townsend (journalist)|Martin Townsend]] | location=London}}</ref> |
In a five-starred review for the ''[[Sunday Express]]'', [[Martin Townsend (journalist)|Martin Townsend]] proclaimed it "a gorgeously unhurried, utterly mesmerising masterpiece".<ref name="Townsend">{{cite news | url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/234500/Album-review-The-Unthanks-Last-Rabblerouser-EMI | title=Album review – The Unthanks: Last (Rabblerouser/EMI) | work=[[Sunday Express]] | date=13 March 2011 | accessdate=24 August 2014 | author=[[Martin Townsend (journalist)|Martin Townsend]] | location=London}}</ref> |
||
The album reached number 40 in the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="Mediaor">{{cite web | url=http://mediaor.com/post/111167503789/official-charts-analysis-ellie-gouldings-love-me | title=Official Charts Analysis: Ellie Goulding’s Love Me Like You Do holds onto No.1 with sales of 118,225 | Music Week: Home Stream | publisher=Mediaor | date=16 February 2015 | accessdate=1 March 2015}}</ref> |
|||
The album reached number 40 in the [[UK Albums Chart]]. |
|||
==Track listing== |
==Track listing== |
||
Revision as of 00:22, 1 March 2015
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Last, the fourth album by English folk group The Unthanks, was released on 14 March 2011. It reached number 40 in the UK albums chart and was well received by the critics, receiving a five-starred review in the Sunday Express and four-starred reviews in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.
Songs
As well as traditional material, the album included a song written by band member Adrian McNally ("Last"), and versions of songs by Jon Redfern ("Give Away Your Heart"), Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan ("No One Knows I'm Gone"), King Crimson ("Starless") and Alex Glasgow ("Close the Coalhouse Door").
Production and release
The album was produced by Adrian McNally; he and Thom Lewis were the sound engineers. The album was mastered by Denis Blackham and was released in the UK by Rabble Rouser Music on 14 March 2011. It was released in Europe by Rough Trade Records and in Australia on the Fuse Music Group label.
Reception
Mark Deming, in a four-starred review for AllMusic, described Last as "a striking fusion of British folk music with austere, arty pop, featuring adventurous arrangements and dynamics that recall acts like Tindersticks, Sufjan Stevens, and American Music Club".[1]
David Bevan, reviewing the album for Pitchfork, said of Rachel and Becky Unthank's voices: "The revolving harmonies of 'Canny Hobbie Elliot' are emblematic of how well they can work together. Though it's one of the few songs on Last that isn't sad and bleak, their voices come together just so, and the result is mystifying and devastating."[2]
Sid Smith, for BBC Music, said that "Proving once again that sad songs are very often the best, their fourth album is brimming with material that is as haunting as it is beautiful."[3] In a four-starred review for The Guardian, Robin Denselow described it as "a bold and highly original set".[4] Thomas H Green of The Daily Telegraph also gave the album four stars and said it was "string-laden and luscious but also delicate, wistful and melancholy".[5] Writing in NME, Anthony Thornton said that the album "proves the mix of Rachel and Becky’s voices to be one of the true wonders of 21st-century music".[6]
Graeme Thomson, writing for Uncut magazine, said: "This is a bleakly beautiful record which unfolds slowly... And while there’s a tendency for the songs to merge into one indistinct flow, it seems self-defeating to try to unpick the individual strands of this LP: its strength lies in holding a distinct – and chilly – atmosphere throughout."[7]
In a five-starred review for the Sunday Express, Martin Townsend proclaimed it "a gorgeously unhurried, utterly mesmerising masterpiece".[8]
The album reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart.[9]
Track listing
| No | Title | Lyrics and music | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Gan To The Kye" | Traditional, arranged by The Unthanks | 5:39 | |
| 2 | "The Gallowgate Lad" | Lyrics: Joe Wilson. Music: Traditional (Tune: Sally Grey), arranged by The Unthanks | 6:06 | |
| 3 | "Queen of Hearts" | Traditional, arranged by The Unthanks | 4:32 | |
| 4 | "Last" | Adrian McNally | 7:09 | |
| 5 | "Give Away Your Heart" | Jon Redfern | 3:49 | |
| 6 | "No One Knows I'm Gone" | Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan (Tom Waits cover) | 2:11 | |
| 7 | "My Laddie Sits Ower Late Up" | Traditional, arranged by The Unthanks | 2:45 | |
| 8 | "Canny Hobbie Elliot" | Traditional, arranged by The Unthanks | 3:28 | |
| 9 | "Starless" | Cross/Fripp/Wetton/Palmer-James (King Crimson cover) | 6:00 | |
| 10 | "Close The Coalhouse Door" | Alex Glasgow | 7:02 | |
| 11 | "Last" (reprise) | Adrian McNally | 0:57 | Total length = 49:38 |
Personnel
- The Unthanks
- Rachel Unthank – voice, kalimba
- Becky Unthank – voice
- Niopha Keegan – violin, voice
- Adrian McNally – piano, dulcitone, voice, drums
- Chris Price – bass, acoustic and electric guitar, ukulele
- Additional musicians
- Ros Stephen – violin
- Becca Spencer – viola
- Jo Silverston – cello
- Lizzie Jones – trumpet
- Dean Ravera – double bass
- Alex Neilson – drums
- Julian Sutton – melodeon
References
- ^ Mark Deming (2011). "The Unthanks: Last". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ David Bevan (27 May 2011). "The Unthanks: Last". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ Sid Smith (3 March 2011). "Brimming with material that is as haunting as it is beautiful". BBC Music, BBC website. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Robin Denselow (10 March 2011). "The Unthanks: Last – Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ Thomas H Green (11 March 2011). "'Last' by The Unthanks' is luscious and delicate". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ Anthony Thornton (16 March 2011). "The turning cogs below the surface of English folk". NME. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ Graeme Thomson (2011). "The Unthanks – Last". Uncut. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
- ^ Martin Townsend (13 March 2011). "Album review – The Unthanks: Last (Rabblerouser/EMI)". Sunday Express. London. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Official Charts Analysis: Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do holds onto No.1 with sales of 118,225". Mediaor. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
{{cite web}}: Text "Music Week: Home Stream" ignored (help)