FEATURE:
Spotlight
Loose Articles
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ON many people’s radars…
since 2019, the mighty Loose Articles are a group that everyone should follow, listen to and see live! I have yet to see them live, though I will rectify this at some point soon. Natalie Wardle, Tree Nah, Erin Caine and Louise Rivett comprise the Manchester band. Post-Punk queens who have released so much prime and golden music so far – including their 2019 E.P., Orchid Lounge -, maybe I am a little late extolling their virtues! To be fair, I have been a fan for a while now, though I wanted to wait a bit longer to include them in this feature. I am going to finish with some recent news and developments, as the band announced details of a new E.P., Chaos, and they have shared the title track. The E.P. is due on 1st July. The band also recently signed with the excellent stable, Alcopop! It is a busy and prosperous time for one of my favourite new bands. They are going to festival staples very soon. Go and see them perform if you can. I think they could whip up a lot of love in the U.S. or Australia. They definitely have potential to be worldwide treasures! Before getting to some recent words, I want to head back and start with a couple of interviews from early in their careers. NME chatted with Loose Articles in 2020 and asked them some cool questions:
“What’s your band called, mate?
Loose Articles
What do you sound like?
We’re a melodic post-punk quartet. Specialising in discord, repetition and radical politics.
Are you any good (honestly)?
100% … We’re Feminine & Threatening, Working & Class.
What’s your best song?
All of them are bangers if we say so ourselves. We’ll let you guys be the judge of our best tune.
What’s been your most memorable gig?
Ooer thats a tough one as we’ve had a fair few really mint ones. Probs playing Manchester O2 Ritz for Socialist Sunday – Manchester for a Labour Government. It was a mega gig with a massive line up and all for a mint cause to try get as many people to vote for Labour.
Tell us something really interesting about you, that isn’t to do with music.
Tree has had her debut TV appearance on Sunday Politics.
Louise used to live in Germany and designed footy kits.
Erin once had her sights set on Muay Thai Boxing world domination.
Natalie lived in a naturist park in Canada a few years back.
What is your karaoke song?
Erin dominates Blondie’s ‘Hanging On The Telephone’.
Natalie is all about Robbie Williams, ‘Rock DJ’
Tree’s is a toss up between Shania Twain’s ‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman’ and Dizzee Rascal, ‘Bonkers’
Louise would boss New Order – ‘World in Motion’
Scenario: We’ve given you a shit load of money to make a big budget video – what do you do
Big video shoot at a packed out Wembley football stadium. All the England team are our backing dancers and the whole day is sponsored with unlimited Stella Artois… obviously
What do you want to achieve with your music?
Ideally getting invited to play at Peter Andre’s birthday party… but if failing that playing Glastonbury will do.
If your tour bus was hanging over the edge of a cliff and you needed to throw out one band member as ballast, which member would it be and why?
Thats a well tight question that… none of us we’ll sacrifice the driver instead, soz.
Fill in the blanks: When you listen to our music it feels like this gang of northern lasses is boozing and shouting in your brain”.
A truly wonderful band who were epic and original from the start, but have only grown better and more promising, I think the rest of this year will see Loose Articles ascend to new heights. The Culture Slice spoke with the band in 2019. Fairly fresh out of the block, it is fascinating reading what they had to say:
“Ruminate on the term ‘girl band’ - memories conjure up of the Riot Grrrl movement, the existential nihilism of Hole and the tenacity of lyrics such as we’re Bikini Kill and we want Revolution Girl-style now! The notion that an emerging female band in 2019 can be groundbreaking and subversive is elusive, right? We stand corrected, a caveat has been served!
Loose Articles are, in my opinion revolutionising the sovereign state of punk rock – a genre arguably putrefying, as dreamy vocals and pop infused licks saturate the UK scene. A melting pot of vehement social commentary, snake-thumping bass-lines and unprecedented demeanour emancipate these women from their predecessors. The band’s narrative – a commix of politically charged poetry and tongue-in-cheek melodic bluesy vocals – acts as a culturally relevant tribute to a nation unhinged.
Airing genuine camaraderie, whilst remaining somewhat nonchalant, Erin, Tree and Natalie of Loose Articles gather at the plushly decorated Deaf Institute in Manchester. Salutes have to be made to the group’s effortlessly distinct style – draped in sunset brogues, an 80s boiler suit and emerald velvet denoting their enigmatic personalities. From the get-go it is clear that these women have a keen intuition for what works well, and DIY culture is ingrained in their DNA! As they gear up for their first support slot, aligning with their comrades Afghan Sand Gang, I seized the opportunity to catch up with them.
PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Roper
Having the honour of securing your first interview, it would be remiss of me to not scope out the backstory on how the band formed…
Tree: Basically I was pestering Nat and Erin at parties… and every time there were various boys that we knew in bands, we were like ‘we could fucking do that.’ So yeah, just after a bit of pestering we had a practice and thought this is alright.
That leads me onto the subject of you being female quartette There is a plethora of women at the moment, flying the flag for women in music, such as Anna Calvi and Sharon Van Etten. Did you gain any inspiration from this?
Natalie: What was our inspiration? I guess it was a gap in the market and, as Tree said, looking at a lot of our mates who are in bands, who are all guys and being like ‘oh well, we can do that’. Also, there is a lot of women who are in bands but none of them are from the north – there’s a few but not as many… it’s taken over by the London scene, there’s borderline who are northern working-class.
What I really like about you is that you have brought this tongue-in-cheek humour, during a period of trepidation, in relation to the current political climate. Is there something at the epicentre relating to struggle that has sparked your creativity?
Tree: Yeah I suppose in politics and in life things are a bit… shit. So that’s what we talk about.
Erin: I think that you’ve always got to talk about things that you know and things that are personal to you. Especially within music and art, you can only express things that you know really.
Tree: You might as well make it funny I suppose. It’s one of them things…
Erin: If you don’t laugh then you’ll cry. It’s not that bad but you know (laughs).
Natalie: That’s the thing – like a lot of stuff that I’ve always created anyway has always been tongue-in-cheeky kind of things (looks at Erin). Like your artwork as well.
Erin: Underlying sarcasm… because I think that’s a good way to get your point across to people.
Natalie: Make them laugh before they listen to you, that’s the best way to do it. If people laugh first, then they’ll start to listen to what you are saying. That’s how it will grab them, rather than just preaching in people’s faces about stuff… they won’t listen if you do that, they’ll think 'shut up!'
Erin: And I don’t think that’s necessarily because we are in an all female band either, because that could be seen as… when you look at for instance some female comedians mocking men. I don’t see it as a gender-based thing.
You delve into the issue of toxic masculinity in your song Lethal Weapon. One lyric quotes you misogynistic clown. Does this use of satire contain an undertone derived from personal experience?
Natalie: We’ve been in a band before, we’ve been DJ's… things like that in the music industry. Myself, the other person I DJ with, we’ve felt very much like we get talked down a lot of the time. We've had hilarious things of guys who aren’t DJ’s, just punters, coming up to us saying things like “Oh, are they your Dad’s records?” Then the worst thing was somebody asked us “Are they your boyfriend’s records?” It’s as though they think that we don’t know what we are doing with our music. We’re just two pretty faces… well I say I’m pretty. It’s as though two women are Deejaying so it must be a gimmick. That’s one of the experiences. Other experiences just being in everyday life – work, getting cat-called in the street.
Tree: Especially the work-related stuff, it is something that most women will relate to.
Erin: I work in design and technology and I went in the shop to ask for some varnish, and the shop assistant said “Oh, nail varnish?” He looked at me like I was asking for blood or something.
Natalie: It’s just normalised… the sort of language men use to speak to women. It’s been formed in a way that that’s how it is and it just needs to change from the word go! There’s so many other women doing what we are doing as well, that it’ll become normalised that women can do it.
Erin: It’s a society problem. We live in a bubble though don’t we? I suppose all our male mates are not like that. They’re just like us.
Tree: Then you go to work, or in public…
Erin: In the big world...
Tree: Yeah, you hear about when people talk about ‘the classic man at the office’. You’d say something and then the man in the room repeats it. You think surely nobody does that? My Dad would never do that. Then someone goes, “Oh! What about this?” And you think to yourself ‘I’ve literally just said that!’
I’ve been away from Manchester for a while now. Albeit from an outside perspective, it seems that currently there is some sort of magic in the air…
Erin: I feel that there’s a bit of magic in the air – yeah, definitely!
Natalie: Northern power again isn’t it?
Erin: There’s a lot bands in the north – especially with us in Manchester, we all tend to kind of back each other a bit and help each other out, which is nice.
Natalie: It’s nice as well because for quite a while there was nothing coming out of Manchester at all! Now there’s been quite a few bands that have actually started to do really well. It sort of makes you think 'hang on a minute…well if they can do well we can do well too!’ People are looking in Manchester for up and coming talent.
Tree: As well, as we were saying before – a lot of the female bands were coming from London and it feels that now it’s Manchester’s turn.
Erin: The north will rise again”.
Moving into last year, Wax Music reflected on a year where the band took new steps and released, to that point, some of their strongest music:
“Their debut Orchid Lounge EP was released in homage to Manchester’s China Town late night karaoke bar, which is frequented by many characters of the city at all hours. Continuing this slight hedonist theme, they followed up with the single ‘Up The Disco’, which kind of does what it says on the tin. There are dancehall tinged elements, like the brilliant scale-climbing chorus – but it still lies heavily within their post-punk comfort zone. It was also the track which caused an increase in their airplay when it was premiered by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music.
2021 has seen two Loose Articles releases so far. The first of which was ‘Buses’, which is quite simply a vocal assault towards catching the bus. The local myth that Manchester’s Oxford Street is the busiest bus route in Europe means many listeners can relate. ‘Kick Like A Girl’ is their most recent release, which alongside it saw a stroke of marketing genius – custom made ‘LAFC’ football tops.
Their catalogue so far has caught the attention of many; including national radio stations, the prestigious Manchester International Festival, and also a certain Dave Grohl, who has invited them to open up for Foo Fighters at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium in 2022. No booking agent in sight.
You tend to use humour as a weapon for getting your message across.
Erin: If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.
Natalie: You need to get people in with the funniness and then they might listen to you more.
Erin: The current political climate is a bit dire, so you have got to take the piss a bit, otherwise what’s the point?
Louise: We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We should probably take ourselves more seriously. We were two hours late for our own soundcheck a couple weeks ago. We live fifteen minutes down the road.
Erin: It was ‘cos it was Parklife and Ronaldo’s first game at Old Trafford, so getting a taxi was a fuckin’ nightmare. Some people from a sewing machine factory in Brunswick Mill, where we practice, ended up giving us a lift with all of our gear.
Louise: We hitchhiked to our own gig.
We can’t not talk about that certain support slot at the Etihad Stadium for Foo Fighters. How did it come about?
Erin: So basically we got asked by The Foo Fighters to support them.
Natalie: I’ve got the email from SJM. They basically say, “Hi, The Foo Fighters have requested if you’re free to open for them?”
Erin: We were like “I think I’m busy actually.”
Natalie: You said no at first because you love Nirvana! I was like “fuck off Erin”!
Erin: Yeah, I thought about it and realised we couldn’t really turn that down.
Louise: I don’t know that many Foo Fighters songs, and someone had them on at work. I asked who it was and they were like “It’s Foo Fighters, you’re supporting them!”
Erin: It’s funny how many people have come out of the woodwork saying “You’ve made it now.” It’s not this life affirming experience.
It’s pretty big though considering you’ve no booking agent either
Louise: I don’t know if it’s true but Dave Grohl hand picks all the bands to support him.
Erin: He’s supposed to be one of the nicest men in music. I guess we’ll find out. If he can take us to Glastonbury then I’ll believe that.
Have you done anything different to prepare for a stadium show?
Erin: I’m gonna borrow my mate’s amp. I’ve got this 11kg Orange amp because I like to travel light. So I’ve arranged to borrow a Fender Hot Rod and my mate’s gonna carry it. So that’s how I’ve prepared, don’t know about you two?
Natalie: I’m going to try and learn how to play bass, and maybe get some singing lessons.
Louise: I’m gonna get a drum kit that’s not £50. Also we need to get sponsored.
Erin: If Fender wanna sponsor us for a Hot Rod amp that would be great. And also a person to carry it for me, cos I’ve not got time to go to the gym.
As things are snowballing, what’s lined up release wise for Loose Articles?
Erin: We’re just waiting for a multimillion pound record deal. D’you know anyone?
Natalie: Someone just needs to like us enough.
Erin: We’ve got all the songs there, and we’ve done loads of recording, we’re just waiting for the right moment to pounce. We’ve gotta do it proper. We’re just waiting for the right person to come along who believes in us as much as we believe in them”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Piran Aston
Prior to wrapping things up, it is worth coming up to date. Loose Articles are putting out a new E.P. in July. Maximum Volume Music reported some exciting news about one of the most exciting releases of this year:
“Manchester punk quartet Loose Articles are delighted to announce that they have signed to Alcopop! Records for their second EP, titled Chaos and set for release on 1st July 2022.
To celebrate the news, the band have revealed the EP’s title track and lead single ‘Chaos’ which is released on 23rd February 2022 via all good digital service providers.
The four piece have already announced a string of headline dates and festival appearances for 2022 including Gold Sounds Festival and Stockton Calling, and also have the pleasure of supporting Dave Grohl’s rock legends Foo Fighters at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester on 25th June 2022
Commenting on the title track, the band say: “The tune was inspired by a particularly warm winter, when we were sitting around in beer gardens way too early in the year and all feeling a bit guilty for enjoying ourselves in the knowledge that the weird weather was definitely due to man made climate change and not some kindly weather god giving us northerners a well deserved break from the cold & rain.”
Specialising in discordant, hypnotic repetition, tales of boozy nights out, and radical politics, Loose Articles are a punk quartet with plenty to say. Their music speaks to all those determined to get through the age of austerity with tongue in cheek, pint in hand, and two feet firmly on the dance floor. Plying repetition (repetition, repetition…) with ragged edges and a sardonic, sarcastic drawl delivered with fierce, in your face, punk-fuelled attitude, both feminine & threatening, Loose Articles are here to make a point.
The band released their debut EP Orchid Lounge in 2019, following up with a string of standalone singles during the pandemic including ‘Up The Disco (2020), ‘Buses’ (2021) and ‘Kick Like A Girl’ (2021).
Loose Articles describe their forthcoming second EP Chaos as: “a satirical examination of the hazards of modern life—keyboard warriors, the death of the independent pub, sexist footy fans, and the hopelessness that the woman in the street often feels in the face of impending doom. Whilst politicians fly their private jets to climate change conferences only to sit around scratching their collective heads as to why it’s so warm in February, all that’s left to do is head to the nearest beer garden and watch the world burn.”
Already heavily championed by Steve Lamacq at BBC 6music (where they’ve also seen strong support from Chris Hawkins, Tom Robinson and Amy Lamé) the band have also picked up love from John Kennedy at Radio X, and appeared on Spotify’s The Punk List.
Elsewhere they’ve been covered by NME as one of The NME 100 list, endorsed by punk-friendly fashion labels Fred Perry Subculture and Underground England, named as one of Under The Radar Magazine‘s 22 for 2022, and have appeared on BBC One’s Football Focus as keen amateur pundits and fans of the beautiful game”.
If you are unaware about the brilliance of Loose Articles, then get involved and investigate! The terrific Manchester band have crafted their own sound and are picking up fans all around the world. As I said, I would not be surprised if they were touring right around the world very soon. With such a connection and chemistry between them, you can feel and sense how important it is to them that their music connects with people. You only need to take one listen to any of their songs until they are lodged in the head. Long may Loose Articles continue to reign. They are one of this country’s…
VERY best groups.
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