''Songs from the Shipyards'', the seventh album by

English folk The folk music of England is a tradition-based music which has existed since the later medieval period. It is often contrasted with courtly, classical and later commercial music. Folk music traditionally was preserved and passed on orally wit ...

group

The Unthanks The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres."They may call ...

, was released on 5 November 2012. The album is designated Vol. 3 in The Unthanks' ''Diversions'' series and follows on from Vol. 1 ('' The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons''), released in November 2011 and Vol. 2 (''

The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band ''The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band'', the sixth album by English folk group the Unthanks, was released on 30 July 2012. Its extended title is: ''Diversions, Vol. 2: The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band''. Reco ...

''), released in July 2012. It is a studio-recorded album of songs from a soundtrack, compiled by The Unthanks, which was first performed live in February 2011 at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

’s

Tyneside Cinema The Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the city's only full-time independent cultural cinema, specialising in the screening of independent and world cinema from across the globe. The last remaining Newsreel t ...

to accompany the showing of a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

by Richard Fenwick about the history of

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

on the Tyne,

Wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in m ...

and Tees.A DVD of the film was included, alongside the compilation CD ''

Archive Treasures 2005–2015 ''Archive Treasures 2005–2015'', the ninth album by English folk group the Unthanks, was released on 11 December 2015. It contains archive recordings, most of them previously unreleased, spanning the group's 10-year history of recording. Thes ...

'', in The Unthanks' ''Memory Box'' package released in December 2015. The album includes a cover version of

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

's "Shipbuilding" and songs written by

Graeme Miles Graeme Miles (1935 – 29 March 2013) was an English folk singer and songwriter based in Middlesbrough. Born in Greenwich, London, he grew up in Teesside and studied at West Hartlepool Art School. He became enamored with folk music and with the T ...

Alex Glasgow Alex Glasgow (14 October 1935 – 14 May 2001) was an English singer-songwriter from Low Fell, Gateshead, England. He wrote the songs and music for the musical plays ''Close the Coal House Door'' and '' On Your Way, Riley!'' by Alan Plater, and ...

Archie Fisher Archie Macdonald Fisher (born 23 October 1939) is a Scottish folk singer and songwriter. He has released several solo albums since his first, eponymous album, in 1968. Fisher composed the song "The Final Trawl", recorded on the album ''Windwa ...

, John Tams,

Peter Bellamy Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums and touring folk clubs and concert halls. He ...

and

Jez Lowe John Gerard "Jez" Lowe (born 14 July 1955) is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, ...

, plus a centrepiece track, "The Romantic Tees", written by Adrian McNally. The album received four-starred reviews in ''The Observer'', ''The Independent'' and ''Metro''.

Reception

In a four-starred review ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

Neil Spencer Neil Spencer is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and astrologer who lives in north London. He edited the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') from 1978 to 1985 and was a founding editor of the men's magazine ''Arena'' and of the jazz/art ma ...

described it as "a stark creation, using little more than piano, violin and voices" but said that its

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

"lends poignancy to songs and poetry narrating the glory and grime of a vanished era". In another four-starred review, Andy Gill for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' referred to "the wistful blend of piano and ambient sounds" on "The Romantic Tees" and Becky Unthank's "soft timbre" and Rachel Unthank's "more ingenuous tone" on "Black Trade" and "A Great Northern River". However, Jen Bowden for '' The Skinny'' felt that it "lacks the buzz of previous Unthanks albums... As a film soundtrack it is an emotive, image-ridden heart-breaker, but as an stand-alone listen it too easily fades, like its ghosts, into the background." And Martin Townsend, writing in the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', said that "Rachel and Becky Unthank’s admirably prolific output is beginning to count against them a little, as the delicacy of their earlier work gives way to a slightly clichéd earnestness." Yet John Lewis, in a four-starred review for ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', appreciated the Unthanks' sisters' "spine-tingling harmony". He said that The Unthanks "conjure a lament for a dying industry without recoursing to empty nostalgia or unearned sentimentality". Rosamund Woodroffe, for

Bright Young Folk Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

, admitted that the album can be "slightly more abstract than other release by The Unthanks" but said that "it is beautifully crafted, delicately put together and lovingly performed – a stunning testament to the shipyards".

Track listing

''Total album length = 41:21''

Personnel

;The Unthanks * Rachel Unthank – voice * Becky Unthank – voice * Niopha Keegan – violin, voice * Adrian McNally – piano, harmonium, drum, voice * Chris Price – guitar, bass, voice ;Additional musicians * Keith Hill –

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

on "The Romantic Tees" * Julian Sutton – melodeon on "The Romantic Tees"

Production

The album was produced by Adrian McNally and engineered by Adrian McNally and Chris D'Adda. The photographs used on the CD sleeve were by Keith Pattison.

Notes

References

External links

Footage from the accompanying film

The Unthanks: official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Songs from the Shipyards 2012 soundtrack albums Albums produced by Adrian McNally Film soundtracks Maritime music The Unthanks albums