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Loop Pulverize, Mystify at First U.S. Tour Date in 24 Years

Loop at Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, April 16, 2014 / Photo by Andrew Swartz

Reunited English outfit Loop kicked off their first U.S. tour in 24 years on Wednesday night, taking the stage at Philadelphia’s Kung Fu Necktie, a cozy dive bar with a capacity of roughly 200 that’s located in the neighborhood of Fishtown. The legendary psych-gaze quartet — which formed in 1986, disbanded in 1991 after releasing three albums, and reconciled in 2013 — performed an intimate, 75-minute set that revived the band’s breed of of manic, layered guitar-rock. Singer-guitarist Robert Hampson’s katana-sharp tones cut deep. The bass growled. Pot smoke hung over the crowd. Senses were assaulted. And the riffs were just as unhinged and transfixing as they were decades ago.