panic shack - panic shack - brace yourself

With their hugely anticipated debut album out tomorrow, Cardiff's Panic Shack today share a final single and video ahead of the record's release.

'Pockets', a fizzing and vitriolic rager that leaps out of the gates with a chant of its oft-repeated refrain "VAPE! PHONE! KEYS! LIP GLOSS!" is emblematic of so much of what makes the five-piece's debut album so special. It takes an underrepresented but very tangible issue affecting women today, laces it with biting humour and a knowing wink, and packages it in a danceable-punk blinder. The politicisation of the pocket has begun.

Of the track, the band explain: "'Pockets' is about an unspoken bond between women, something men will never quite understand. If you’ve ever worn women’s clothing, you’ll be far too familiar with the plight of… NOT HAVING ANY POCKETS IN YOUR CLOTHES. It’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek song in classic Shack style, describing something a bit silly but with a deeper social commentary on a bigger issue: inequality and patriarchal control. We had never heard the topic in a song before so thought it was our duty to spread the word to the masses. Hopefully fashion brands take note and pockets production will make it to women’s clothing by 2026, we are fed up of always having to carry a bag!!!"

Ramping up to the album's release, last week Panic Shack further previewed the record with an explosive session for Huw Stephens on BBC 6 Music featuring album cuts [tracks here] - check it out here: [link]

The band now kick off a release week run of UK in-stores with a double release day show at Cardiff's Sustainable Studios alongside a pop-up Panic Shack shop running there during the daytime. Later this week, they'll visit stores including Rough Trade East in London and Resident in Brighton. Please find a full itinerary further below.

'Pockets' follows on from recent album singles 'Thelma & Louise', 'Girl Band Starter Pack' and 'Gok Wan' which between them have amassed a whirlwind of press support from the likes of NME, Kerrang!, DIY, Dork, The Line of Best Fit, Rolling Stone UK, Wonderland, The Skinny, 1883 Magazine and more, alongside radio support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, Radio X, Apple Music 1 and BBC 6 Music, who playlisted both 'Girl Band Starter Pack' and 'Gok Wan' with the latter also winning the coveted BBC 6 Music Roundtable earlier this year.

Linking up with producer Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Yard Act), Panic Shack finds the band - comprised of Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar/backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar/backing vocals), Em Smith (bass) and Nick Doherty-Williams (drums) - shooting for the rafters like they never have before. Reflecting their rapid growth over the last few years, Panic Shack expands their gutsy punk sound into fuller territory, packed with vocal harmonies, synths, electronic experimentation, and even a trumpet at one point.Across the album, the lyrics are conversational, often stemming from in-jokes, while the subject matter spans the full range of the feminine experience. Whether it’s everyday stuff like browsing Hinge (‘Unhinged’) and remembering everything you need to stick in your bag because your dress has no pockets (‘Pockets’), or broader societal issues like the impact of toxic tabloid culture on body image (‘Gok Wan’) and sexual harassment (‘SMELLARAT’), no topic is too frivolous or too vast. There’s no point-scoring or political commentary to be made here, though. The songs spring naturally from the way they live their lives, which is, more often than not, with a great deal of enjoyment.

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. The only love song is closer ‘Thelma & Louise’, a tender indie pop ode to female friendship that ends the album with a ride-or-die promise before leaving the listener suspended in mid-air.

Live, the band have toured and shared stages with Bob Vylan, Soft Play, Orlando Weeks, Los Bitchos, Yard Act, Lambrini Girls and more, and performed at festivals including Reading & Leeds, SXSW, Green Man, End of the Road, 6 Music Festival, Truck, 2000 Trees, The Great Escape and Glastonbury, where MOJO called them "an early candidate for band of the festival."