PANIC SHACK

Baby Shack (Brace Yourself)

The enjoyment of making music with your friends shouldn’t be reserved to a male, indie, members-only club – but sometimes it certainly looks that way. Panic Shack have been spending the last three years picking up instruments and proving that anyone can do it, building up a sizable following through word-of-mouth. This long-awaited EP, Baby Shack, will surely blow open the gates to a far wider audience.

Sarah Harvey’s vocals sound even more charismatic in the studio than in their electric live shows, and Tom Rees of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – keeping things in the Cardiff family – lifts everything to a level where there’s very little evidence that this is a band of mostly novice instrumentalists. Some songs make a statement, while others are openly shallow and hilarious for it, like The Ick. Panic Shack’s enjoyment of being in a band is captured in every note of Baby Shack: catchy and fun, full and satisfying.

words ISABEL THOMAS