Hailing from Newcastle, Rachel Unthank & the Winterset are an all-girl folk foursome who've caused quite a stir among genre connoisseurs and new-music lovers alike. Their 2005 debut, Cruel Sister, won Mojo's Folk Album of the Year despite its simple production values. The magazine invites them back to London tonight to showcase songs from their equally captivating 2007 follow-up, The Bairns. Their live brilliance is built on the most solid of platforms: songwriting that manages to be both traditional and bang up-to-date, shored up by haunting Geordie voices and layered arrangements of piano, violin, cello and occasional tapping feet.