Quick Takes – March 2026: Album Reviews
Quick Takes for March features Cohen, Ellis & Ellis, Fabienne Erni, Sam Lewis, Red Sun Atacama, HamaSaari, And Also The Trees and Void Of Light
Doctor Nativo – BarrioKandela: Album Review
Doctor Nativo takes cumbia, reggae, mariachi, Afro-native rhythms and Mesoamerican oral traditions and blends them like they ain’t never been blended before!
Kreator w/ Carcass, Exodus & Nails – O2 Apollo, Manchester: Live Review
German thrash titans Kreator arrive in Manchester on their Krushers Of The World tour with a stacked bill of classic bands.
Northern Soul Orchestrated – Birmingham Symphony Hall: Live Review
The BBC Concert Orchestra reinterpret the Proms for contemporary audiences – Northern Soul gets the treatment in Brum.
Infected Rain, Butcher Babies and Black Spikes – Club Academy, Manchester: Live Review
Infected Rain with Butcher babies and Black Spikes provide the perfect antidote to a grey, miserable evening in Manchester.
The Blockheads – Barnoldswick Music and Arts: Live Review
The Blockheads continue to carry forth the legacy of the supremely talented, and much missed Ian Dury.
Thundercat – AVIVA Studios, Factory International, Manchester: Live Review
Internationally renowned, Grammy award winning bass maestro, Thundercat, brings Distracted AF to Manchester.
Fairport Convention – Roadworks: Album Review
Fairport Convention share a few highlights of their Wintour 2025 show on Roadworks, a new live album…only available during the current Spring Tour, or at Cropredy…
Elles Bailey – Band On The Wall, Manchester: Live Review
Elles Bailey and Caitlin Krisko And The Broadcast hit some Blues heights at Manchester’s Band On The Wall.
Winterfylleth – The Unyielding Season: Album Review
Winterfylleth are back with The Unyielding Season; album number nine, full of more soaring and epic black metal but this time, a harder edge.
Hellripper – Coronach: Album Review
Hellripper return with Coronach; another blistering collection of speed metal rooted on Scottish folklore and heritage.
Massive Wagons – Live At The Great Hall: Album Review
Made in Lancaster – Massive Wagons, live and dangerous in their natural habitat.
Axel Rudi Pell w/ Neverland – O2 Academy, Islington: Live Review
Axel Rudi Pell and Neverland remind us why Melodic Metal still matter in an Islington O2 Academy double bill.
Joe Hicks – Before It Gets Dark: Album Review
Third album from Newbury-based singer-songwriter Joe Hicks. Before It Gets Dark is a cathartic set of songs, written as Joe came to terms with breakup and the death of his father.
Manchester Folk Festival 2026 – Live Review
Manchester again plays host to an impressive line up of Folk Music from the UK and beyond.