Panic Shack aren’t interested in the keys to the boys’ clubhouse or fighting with sharp-elbows for a seat at the table. They’re with you, out there: in the pit, at the bar, in the group chat – and their sound, collar-grabbing punk missives which walk the line between smoking area banter and a restless rage for a world we live in, refuses to sit politely.

Comprised of Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar/backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar/backing vocals), Em Smith (bass) and Nick Williams (drums), Panic Shack were formed in defiance: “We started the band because we’d spent years going to gigs supporting our indie boy bandmates,” explains Lawrence. “One day we thought, ‘Why aren’t we doing this ourselves, surely it can’t be that hard?’. In the beginning, we just wanted to give it a go and have a bit of a laugh, but now we can hopefully show people that music doesn’t have to feel like a ‘members-only club’ or as something that is out of reach. If we can do it, literally anyone can!”  

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 when they formed, having dusted off guitars from the attic. 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 band’s frenetic live performances whipped up a devoted legion of fans on the Cardiff music scene despite having barely a scrap of music available online. The hotly-awaited arrival of their 2022 debut EP Baby Shack delivered on that early promise: a six-track shot of breakneck punk-rock delivered with a knowing wink. It was recorded by Tom Rees of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard at his studio, Rat Trap – a creative epicentre for the city’s upcoming talent. The EP sparked an instant connection, equal parts mayhem and state-of-the-world reflection, selling out its vinyl edition immediately and elevating Panic Shack to a must-see live act, touring alongside the likes of Los Bitchos, Orlando Weeks and Yard Act. It arrived with a torrent of acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music and Radio 1, with tastemakers including NME, DIY, Dork, Upset and Guitar Magazinechampioning the band.

They kicked things off with ‘Who’s Got My Lighter?’, an ode to the fleeting nature of smoking paraphernalia. Vocalist Sarah Harvey recalls the night out where it all began: ‘It was payday and I had just treated myself to a fresh pouch of baccy, lovely. I met the gals at the pub and started rolling, there’s a lot of anticipation. A passer-by stops and asks to roll a ciggie… ‘Yep, no problem. Here you go.’ I passed over the entire pouch of baccy to this increasingly shifty-looking woman. She didn’t just go for a pinch – she goes for a full-fist grasp of at least 25g and scarpers. She’s pegging it down the road, I start screaming ‘OH! GIVE ME MY BACCY BACK!’ After I have a few moments to cool off I have to look on the bright side… the sun is shining, I just got paid, and I’m at the pub with my best mates. I realise there’s more to life than baccy… ‘Baccy comes and goes.'”

But there’s plenty more where that came from, just as Harvey learned. Subsequent singles saw Panic Shack take on the world with their indomitable spirit, reckoning with the contagion of ‘The Ick’ (“I didn’t think anyone actually put the milk in first!”), being “mansplained” to on ‘I Don’t Really Like It’ and the cost-of-living crisis with ‘Meal Deal’, an anthem for those struggling to make ends meet. The band share: “We would regularly get meal deals on our lunch breaks, with 30 minutes to run to Boots or Tesco, have a cig and scoff it down before having to be all smiles again on the shop floor. But to keep spirits high, we’d send each other our combos and rate them. For example, ready salted crisps, a ham sandwich and a water would get nil pois, obviously. We truly believe your meal deal says a lot about you. The new and improved version, however, is less focused on the actual meal deal itself and more towards what the meal deal represents… being skint. In true Shack style we are keeping things relatively light but still giving our two pence on the current state of living.”

Yes, it might be Panic Shack’s world right now, having conquered the UK with a sold-out headline tour, tackling the strongholds of Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds with Latitude and a tour supporting Bob Vylan yet to come – but where the magic lies band in the fact that it’s very much your world, too.