Quick Takes – January 2026: Album Reviews
Quick Takes for January ’26 – Sky Valley Mistress, Alter Bridge, Blackwater Holylight, Ger Eaton, Tessa Rose Jackson and Zu are amongst our monthly appraisal.
Sean Taylor – First Light: Album Review
Sean Taylor takes aim and fires at a host of deserving and familiar adversaries on his new album, First Light.
Haverin – Home: Album Review
Country and Northern from the heart of the Orkneys, Haverin deliver a solid and sound debut, worthy of note and attention.
Laurence Jones – On My Own: Album Review
Blues-rock guitarist Laurence Jones sings of life on the road, love, and his struggles with Crohn’s disease on On My Own – his first solo acoustic venture.
Falasgair – Just Noise: Album Review
Worth the wait, Falasgair blow the blimmin’ barn down!
Textures – Genotype: Album Review
Dutch prog-metallers Textures release their long awaited sixth record via Kscope. Genotype is the bands first release since 2016’s Phenotype.
Be-Bop Deluxe – The Albums 1974-1976: Album Review
The first three Be-Bop Deluxe albums are presented in a well put together box set.
The Paper Kites – If You Go There, I Hope You Find It: Album Review
Dusty dreams of Australiana, as The Paper Kites dig down deep in the soul.
Bruit – Monolith: EP Review
Bruit revisit their past to offer their view of the mysterious and unpredictable nature of modern life.
Hällas – Panorama: Album Review
With Panorama, their fourth album release, Swedish band Hallas offer yet another chapter in their ever growing career. Travel warily in the musical fantasy world they create.
Betty Blight – Wench, Witch Or Motherly: Album Review
Dark and intimate, the debut album from Betty Blight refocuses the perspective around maligned women and reveres our place in nature.
Hen Hoose Collective – The Twelve: Album Review
A pleasing pot-pourri of powered and punchy electro-pop from Hen Hoose Collective to confound your expectations.
Eliza Marshall – Eternal Birth: Album Review
Eliza Marshall adapts and preserves with a spiritually uplifting and inspirational set.
Xiu Xiu – Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1: Album Review
Xiu Xiu’s latest full length release sees them covering a collection of tracks from the likes of Talking Heads, Soft Cell and Robyn, bringing them into their own twisted world.
Jessie Reid – Little Sparks: Album Review
Second album from Jessie Reid takes an ethereal journey into the darkness, and emerges having found beauty and contentment.