Panic Shack Tickets

Though their name might suggest a state of anxiety, Welsh punk outfit Panic Shack make music to unshackle and untangle from the gripes and grapples of everyday life. Raucous and frenzied, they’re a band charged with post-pandemic nervous energy and a high-octane enthusiasm to go out there and get it. 

Except for bassist Emma, who had played in other bands, it was a case of learning on the job for most of Panic Shack. Feeling an urge to remedy what they saw as an underrepresentation of female-identifying guitarists, Meg Fretwell and Romi Lawrence picked up guitars like it was “School of Rock”, as Meg has put it. Sarah Harvey’s sprechgesang vocal style, blase with a bit of grit, would soon lend itself perfectly to these raw and scratchy guitars. 

The group had been friends from Cardiff’s gig scene, but it was attending the legendary Brecon Beacons-based Green Man Festival in 2018 that inspired and pushed them to start practising together. Before long they had written their first song, the hard-hitting ‘Jiu Jits You’, but it would be a year of practising before their first show in late 2019. Their energy was immediately infectious, gaining radio attention from Huw Stephens and a whole host of gig invites from the likes of Amyl and The Sniffers – a big influence on the band. 

Recording their debut EP in March 2020 with Tom Rees of fellow Cardiff band Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Panic Shack would have to wait patiently for two years until they could finally release Baby Shack. Opening on the moody bass line of ‘Who’s Got My Lighter’, their first release played out like “conversations with friends,” as Punktastic put it, clearly recognising their relatability and sense of fun as these friends talked turn offs, wandering eyes and lost lighters. But though their energy was raw and unrefined, it wasn’t all the finger-bleeding guitar chops of ‘Baby’ and ‘The Ick’. Tracks such as ‘I Don’t Really Like It’ and ‘The Mannequin’ saw the friend begin to play with multiple vocal lines and melodies. 

As they carry on garnering nationwide attention and as successive singles such as ‘Meal Deal’ prove, Panic Shack continue to refine their sharp aim at this rubbish state of affairs all while showing their appreciation for everyday pleasures – and a choreographed dance routine or two.