Panic Shack

BIOGRAPHY

If there's one thing Panic Shack know, it's how to have a good time. Comprised of Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar/backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar/backing vocals), Em Smith (bass/backing vocals) and Nick Williams (drums), the band formed in 2018 as a middle-finger to the “members-only club” atmosphere of indie and punk scenes – not just because they’re male-dominated, but because they make playing music seem out of reach or, even worse, boring. “Boys make it look so hard,” Em says, rolling her eyes. “Whenever I see someone on the floor fiddling with their pedals with a face like a slapped arse I think, you're making this look so unattainable and it’s actually so fucking easy.”

This carefree approach gives Panic Shack’s music the same effect as popping a bottle of Prosecco – explosive, intoxicating, and delightfully chaotic. The band became familiar faces in and around Cardiff, where Em, Sarah, Meg, and Romi met through orbiting the same gig network. With barely any music available online, they built a word-of-mouth following off the back of their live shows, which have been praised for fusing “thrashy early LA-style punk with choreography that owes something to the Go-Go’s and Iron Maiden all at once” (The Guardian). That quickly snowballed into tours with the likes of Bob Vylan and Soft Play, and festival appearances at Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Green Man, End of the Road, SXSW, and more. Released in 2022, their acclaimed Baby Shack EP bottled the lightning they have on stage, cementing their ability to blend killer hooks with a contagious sense of humour. The first vinyl pressing – splattered pink, obviously – sold out almost instantly.

Released last July, Panic Shack’s self-titled debut album represented a serious level up. For the band, it’s felt like a long time coming. “When we recorded our EP we were very new not only to the band, but to our instruments,” says Romi. “This time, we wanted to prove ourselves.” Reflecting their rapid growth over the last few years, Panic Shack expanded their gutsy punk sound into fuller territory, packed with vocal harmonies, synths, electronic experimentation, and even a trumpet at one point. Keen to reflect the “party vibe” that underpins their modus operandi, the songs embrace poppier melodies and more dancefloor-friendly rhythms inspired partly by Australian duo Confidence Man. “We sound nothing like that, but it's our version of it,” says Meg. “We’ve been shoehorned into being called a punk band, but that’s not all we’re about.”

Produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Yard Act) and written between late 2023 and early 2024, Panic Shack came together over three long weekends and nine days of studio time. They holed up in Romi’s aunt’s Airbnb in the seaside village of Ogmore-by Sea with well-intentioned plans to do a lot of yoga (“we brought mats… never once unrolled them”) and sea swimming (“we were like, we’re going to go in every day! Did we fuck”). In the end, they spent most of it going back and forth to the corner shop to replenish the reserves of “wine, choccy, and crisps.”

Irresistible because of their simplicity and charming because of their familiarity, Panic Shack are the answer to a question that, quite frankly, isn’t asked often enough: what if the funniest girls you know started a band? The sonic equivalent to a coming-of-age film unfolding over a single night, Panic Shack takes the shape of a bender, beginning by approaching a bar and ending with an impassioned speech at sunrise about how much you love your friends. Swerving the expected topics of sex and romance, the entire album revolves around the ionic bond between the four girls.

“This band has taken us on the most mental journey that nobody else will fully understand,” says Meg. It’s only right, then, that their debut marks a celebration of that as much as it does the start of a new journey entirely. “We've always wanted people to come in and be part of our world, and this album is every part of who Panic Shack are. The party side, the angry side… It’s a story about us, really,” Sarah explains. “That’s why we named it after the band. We can't help but be ourselves.”