In the small, but very dedicated world of orchestral folk, Northumbrian collective The Unthanks have enjoyed a meteoric rise. Having pumped out well received albums every other year since 2005, they’ve gone from the top rooms of pubs to damn near filling places like the Regal. In the musty universe most of their fans inhabit, this pretty much makes the two singing Unthank sisters and their companions orchestral folk’s version of the Kings of Leon.

This is on show tonight, with the Regal, normally a nightclub, converted into a quiet, shuffling village hall. Bar staff are being forced repeatedly to explain that they don’t have any real ale to gig goers in wool-based attire. This is definitely a folk crowd and one irritated by the choice between Stella or Carlsberg.

Once the group start playing a hush falls over the venue, with barely a whimper sounding aside from applause. It’s easy to get lost, as the whole set sounds like a moment of quiet contemplation in a costume drama, with soaring vocals, lush orchestration and collective swoon of the ensemble playing bringing to mind bonnets and men with ridiculously long sideburns.

It’s also appropriate, as roughly half of the group’s material is made up of ancient folk songs, with yarns like The Gallowgate Lad and Canny Hobbie Elliott. They do have more contemporary sounding work, like The Queen of Hearts, but we’re talking barely post-war folk tales, not Burial or Odd Future.

Throughout their performance, the Unthanks deliver aurally perfect glacial folk, but there’s always something missing. Maybe it’s the age of the material, maybe it’s the professionalism of the playing. But you never feel close to them, it’s like a well produced play, with no tangibility on offer. In the classical world this is probably bang on, but in a gig atmosphere, it leaves you a bit cold.