Comprised of Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar/backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar/backing vocals), Em Smith (bass) and Ed Barker (drums), the band were officially formed in late 2018 as an affront to how music can feel like a 'members-only club' at the best of times, a phallocracy at the worst. They've since built a word-of-mouth following for their frenetic live show with barely a shred of music available online.
It's that sense of inclusiveness that permeates everything Panic Shack do: a band writing killer, off-kilter songs whose guitarists could barely play four chords a year ago having dusted off guitars from the attic; who got started covering Dead or Alive and Stealers Wheel from Googled tabs. It's the kind of trajectory you could compare to a modern Young Marble Giants or ESG, but those bands rarely sounded this fun or alive. You could say there's no one out there doing this right now, but that would probably defeat the point.
The EP presents the band’s first singles 'Who's Got My Lighter?', 'Jiu Jits You' and 'I Don't Really Like It' - that between them received plaudits at press from the likes of NME, Dork, Guitar Magazine, Gigwise, Upset, Beats Per Minute and more, alongside radio support from Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens and Jack Saunders among others – alongside brand new material, ‘Mannequin Man' - 'Baby' and 'The Ick'.
Released: April 2022
Cat: BYREC38
Label: Brace Yourself Records
