Loose Articles turned KU into a riotous punk eruption of unapologetic girl-power energy that refused to stay contained on stage, instead spilling directly into the crowd. From the opening moments, they were locked in: tight, energetic and hypnotic in all the right ways. Their sound, built on whirring synths, firecracker drums, belting basslines and razor-sharp riffs, felt indebted to the spirit of The Cramps while retaining a distinctly DIY Manchester edge.
Second track ‘Sinead Loves Bitcoin’ immediately set the room in motion, establishing a tone of escalating, controlled chaos. That momentum surged further when two-thirds of support act Gaydar joined them on stage mid-song, transforming an already charged atmosphere into something close to combustible.
What followed was a set that balanced uplift and abrasion with ease – angsty yet celebratory, threaded with biting social commentary and tongue-in-cheek humour. A standout moment came when they reworked ‘Are You a Welder?’ on the spot to reference a bin man in the crowd, blurring the line between performer and audience and earning one of the loudest reactions of the night. Later, a full-floor limbo competition reinforced the gig’s communal, chaotic spirit.
Visually electric and musically relentless, Loose Articles embraced absurdity throughout, not least with an unapologetic amount of cowbell.
