Panic Shack - Panic Shack Panic Shack

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 that often surrounds indie and punk scenes. Not just because they remain male dominated, but because they can make playing music feel inaccessible or, worse still, boring.

“Boys make it look so hard,” Em says. “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.”

That carefree attitude gives Panic Shack’s music the same feeling as popping a bottle of prosecco: explosive, intoxicating and delightfully chaotic. Despite having barely any music online in their early days, they built a devoted word-of-mouth following through their live shows, performances praised by The Guardian for combining “thrashy early LA-style punk with choreography that owes something to the Go-Go’s and Iron Maiden all at once.”

The momentum quickly snowballed into tours with Bob Vylan and Soft Play, alongside appearances at Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Green Man, End of the Road, SXSW and more. Their acclaimed 2022 Baby Shack EP successfully bottled the energy of those live performances, proving their ability to combine massive hooks with a contagious sense of humour. The first vinyl pressing — splattered pink, naturally — sold out almost immediately.

Panic Shack, the band’s self-titled debut album, marks a major step forward. Working with producer Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Yard Act), the group expands their gutsy punk sound into fuller territory filled with vocal harmonies, synth textures, electronic experimentation and even the occasional trumpet flourish. Across eleven breakneck tracks, the album barely pauses for breath. It opens with the sounds of chatter, clinking glasses and laughter, much of it recorded in the beer garden at an Amyl & The Sniffers show. Bubbling with the anticipation of stepping into a club at the start of a night out, it feels like party-punk’s answer to the intro of the Spice Girls’ Wannabe.

From there, the bouncing bassline and blistering guitars of Girl Band Starter Band drag listeners headfirst into Panic Shack’s world. Sarah chants everyday observations — “Four iced lattes / Sit outside / Smoke a rolly…” — while the pace accelerates like a racing pulse.

Throughout the record, the lyrics remain conversational and often rooted in in-jokes, while touching on experiences that span the breadth of modern womanhood. Whether it’s browsing Hinge on Unhinged, dealing with dresses without pockets on Pockets, confronting toxic tabloid beauty culture on Gok Wan, or tackling sexual harassment on SMELLARAT, the songs never feel weighed down by heavy-handed messaging. Instead, they emerge naturally from the way the band live their lives: loudly, honestly and with a huge amount of fun.

Irresistible because of their simplicity and charming because of their familiarity, Panic Shack answer a question that frankly does not get asked enough: what if the funniest girls you know started a band?

The result feels like the soundtrack to a coming-of-age film unfolding over the course of one long night out, beginning at the bar and ending at sunrise with emotional declarations of love for your friends. Swerving the expected clichés of romance and heartbreak, the album instead centres itself around the unbreakable bond between the four women at its core.