Norwich quartet Takeda today release their highly anticipated debut album In Venus’ Train (September 17) via Drongo Records.
The record is a striking introduction to a band whose sound moves between fragile British folk and fuzz-drenched alternative rock. Produced by David Pye (Szun Waves, Trudy & the Romance, Faithless, Dido), In Venus’ Train takes on themes of obsession, love, and grieving a past life, using folkloric figures and biblical metaphors as vehicles for deeply personal reflection.
“At first, the songs felt like stories about other people,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Josh Harrison. “But through these characters—drawn from scripture, myth, and imagination—I found a way to look deeper into myself. They carried a light that helped me process and understand what I was living through.”
Harrison’s backstory adds further weight to the music. In 2022 he left a cult in rural England and began channeling that experience into songwriting. Joined by drummer Charlie Wilson and bassist David Woodgett, he shaped those raw sketches into Takeda’s intense and melodic sound. Guitarist Ollie Welch later completed the lineup for live shows. The band describe themselves as “the loudest acoustic guitar on Earth,” a claim the album supports with its blend of soaring yet fragile vocals, delicate textures and explosive walls of fuzz.
In Venus’ Train pulls equally from the folk revivalism of Fairport Convention and the heaviness of Tool, offering moments of poetic beauty alongside raw, cathartic bursts. Imagine Nick Drake fronting Pile and you’re close to the sound Takeda have forged.
The band are already drawing attention from tastemaker outlets including Notion, Ones To Watch, Earmilk and Psychedelic Baby Magazine, with support from Radio X and Amazing Radio. Their debut marks them as a significant new voice in the UK underground.
Takeda will take the record on the road this autumn, with a run of UK dates that includes headline shows, intimate in-store sets and festival appearances.
Tour dates:
September 18 – The Bear Club, Luton
September 19 – Waterfront Studio, Norwich
September 20 – Venus Vinyl, Instore (acoustic), Norwich
September 21 – Dublin Castle, London
September 25 – The Cavendish Arms, London
September 27 – Blue Moon, Cambridge
October 11 – Drongo All Dayer, Norwich
October 18 – Wild Paths Festival, Norwich
With In Venus’ Train, Takeda present a body of work that is at once intimate and unflinching, marking the arrival of a band unafraid to blend vulnerability with volume.
Listen below: