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The Unthanks hit the (unexpected) right notes at Celtic Connections

Review: The Unthanks’ last show focusing on their interpretations of songs by Antony Hegarty (of The Johnsons) and Robert Wyatt provided for a spine-tingling proposition at Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket.

By Michael MacLennan

25 January 2012 12:00 GMT

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The Unthanks hit the (unexpected) right notes at Celtic Connections

The Unthanks: group were doing special set in Glasgow for Celtic Connections Pic: Dave Taylor

Rachel Unthank revealed during their set that it was hers and husband (and band member) Adrian McNally’s third wedding anniversary, which they had chosen to spend at Celtic Connections (in a drizzly Scotland) rather than venturing off to sunnier climes.

Though definitely questionable in one sense, their decision was warmly welcomed by an enraptured audience at the Old Fruitmarket last night, as the Mercury-nominated Northumberland group eschewed their more usual take on traditional English folk for a set interpreting an array of stunning songs by Antony Hegarty (of The Johnsons) and Robert Wyatt.

First up were Scotland’s The Bevvy Sisters though, and a fantastic support they proved to be, sumptuous triple harmonies washing over delicate guitar melodies and subtle brushes of the percussion. Oh Mary Don’t You Reap provided some sly sass, before Ain't No Grave finished off a fun performance in more rollicking fashion. (A bit more dancing might have been expected in the venue, had there not been cabaret-style seating.)

Beginning with a tender, spine-tingling take on Antony’s Bird Guhl – Becky Unthank backed by sparse piano and a lush arrangement for the group's string quartet – there was little doubt that this was a very special show by (and probably also for) The Unthanks, the crowd near silent throughout.

That was evident before McNally – first on drums before switching to piano for the latter segment – revealed that this was both the first time they had played this set in Scotland and most likely the last time that they would be performing it anywhere.

Singing sisters Rachel and Becky taking turns at the microphone for the songs – the former clear and angelic, the latter more smoky and sensuous – and on occasion combining, the first half did justice to the almost unbearable emotional intimacy of Antony Hegarty’s songs (the appropriate You Are My Sister among the many highlights), while the second half stepped things up ever so slightly for the Robert Wyatt numbers.

Actually, they did so quite literally – in lieu of an interval in between the group joked about doing a costume change onstage, though instead of that changed shoes, most the group later joining the Unthank sisters at the front of the stage for a singalong as the pair displayed some rather nifty clog-dancing skills for Dondestan. Afterwards joking that that probably wasn’t what Wyatt had in mind when composing the cheerful-sounding number. (Their wry humour was on welcome display throughout.)

If Hegarty and Wyatt have a similarity, from this show it seemed to be how both have the capacity within their songs to locate startling notes that shouldn't be there, though once found making it feel as though there could have been no other option. With a superb slow-paced encore of Wyatt’s Sea Song and Forest, The Unthanks in a sense provided a similar trick – you might not have been able to imagine them tackling these songs before, but afterwards the superb set it felt impossible to imagine anyone else interpreting them.