The offbeat Cardiff punk band Panic Shack shared their new single yesterday (30 April) ‘Girl Band Starter Pack’. The sparky punk anthem was shared on their Instagram with a clip from the music video which was released along with it.
The band was formed in 2018 by Sarah Harvey on vocals, Meg Fretwell and Romi Lawrence on guitar, Emily Smith on bass, and Nick Doherty-Williams playing drums. The band have a self proclaimed “No f*cks given” ethos and have carried this through their discography, releasing their first EP in 2020 ‘Baby Shack’ with fan favourite song ‘The Ick’ – a playfully angry track about going off a past love interest. The song has since amassed over 2m listens on Spotify.
Panic Shack have brought this energy to their latest release ‘Girl Band Starter Pack’. The band released the music video in a YouTube live premiere, where they discussed the song’s inspiration. The band describe the track with, “this song doesn’t need much of an explanation it’s about how fucking HYPED we get when we are all together”.
In an interview with Dork magazine, they discuss their inspiration further, revealing that “‘Girl Band Starter Pack’ was the title of our inspiration playlist on Spotify when we first started the band,”.
The music video for their new single is an energetic, colourful display of their chemistry. With nods to the 2000s teen rom-com Wild Child, the video shows the band portrayed by Welsh drag queens Jolene Dover, Lasagne Sheets, CiCi and Bopa Rhys. The artists mess around in fun, playful outfits and embrace their youthful energy in what has been identified by fans as Caroline Street (or Chippy Lane) in Cardiff. When explaining the creative decisions of the music video, the band stated “who else could play us better than a bunch of sassy, sexy, stunnin Welsh drag queens?!”.
Along with this release, the band have announced their self titled debut album out on 18 July. They will also be embarking on their UK Don’t Quit Your Day Job tour in May and June 2025. The band are well known for their wild live performances, sharing in an interview with DIY magazine that they’re favourite part is “the unknown element […] Who’s gonna crowdsurf? Who’s gonna get in the pit? What shots are we gonna have to neck on stage?”. Panic Shack have also shown this opening for the similarly wild and unpredictable Soft Play.
With this, fans eagerly anticipate their upcoming tour and what shocks they will bring to the performance of their new and unreleased tracks. Tickets are available on their website.
