The Bairns was the second album by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset (now the Unthanks), which then comprised Rachel Unthank, her younger sister Becky, pianist Belinda O'Hooley and fiddle player Niopha Keegan. Produced by Adrian McNally and released by Rabble Rouser on 20 August 2007,[2] it was nominated for the Best Album award at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards and was also nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize. It received a four-starred review in The Guardian.
Reviewing The Bairns for BBC Music, Mel Ledgard described it as "an album with a cinematic quality, huge in dramatic atmosphere".[4] Nic Oliver, in a 4.5-starred review for musicOMH, said it was a "remarkable album that is both contemporary and timeless".[1] Iain Hazlewood, for Spiral Earth, described it as "[a] gorgeously melancholy and sensual album that has raised the bar several notches".[5]FolkWorld said that The Bairns is "not your run-of-the-mill folk music. It is fragile and intimate, dark and chilling, with influences from blues and jazz music. It makes you shiver at times, at others uplifting like a vaudeville stage act."[6] Justin Hopper, writing in Paste, called it "a milestone in English folk music".[7] In a four-starred review, Robin DenselowofThe Guardian nominated it as "one of the folk records of the year".[3]
"Lull I" (traditional, arranged by Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) 1:23
"Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk" (traditional/Belle Stewart, arranged by Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) 5:13
"I Wish" (Roud 60; Laws P25) (traditional, arranged by Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) 6:24
"Blue's Gaen Oot o'the Fashion": "The Wedding O' Blythe" / "When the Tide Comes in" / "Blue's Gaen Oot o'the Fashion" / "The Lad With the Trousers on" / "The Sailors Are All at the Bar" (traditional, arranged by Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) 4.31
"Lull II: My Lad's a Canny Lad" (traditional, arranged by Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) 0:23
The album was recorded and produced between January and March 2007 by Adrian McNally. It was mastered by Adrian McNally and Denis Blackham at Syke Mastering. The sound engineer was Oliver Knight.[11]
The CD sleeve was designed by Steven Wainwright, incorporating photographs of the band taken at Beamish Museum, Co. Durham.[11]
The album was produced by Adrian McNally and released in the UK by Rabble Rouser on 20 August 2007.
Archive Treasures 2005–2015, a compilation album by the Unthanks, which includes live versions of "Felton Lonnin'", "I Wish" and "Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk"
^Clog dancing – and the sound that the feet make when they do it – is integral to the Unthanks' stage act and to the recording of some of their songs. They list "feet", alongside vocals and instruments, in the album's sleeve notes.
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