Cardiff, UK · punk

Panic Shack

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Cardiff's funniest, fiercest punks — group-chat energy with riffs, in-jokes sharpened into anthems, the funniest serious band in Wales.

Panic Shack are Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell and Romi Lawrence (guitars), Emily Smith (bass) and Nick Doherty-Williams (drums), formed in Cardiff in 2018. Several members learned their instruments as they went, an approach that shaped the band's direct, unfussy songs.

Their material combines scratchy guitar lines and shouted, conversational vocals with lyrics that take aim at everyday irritations and the small indignities of being spoken over, often delivered with comic bluntness. They sing in a recognisably Welsh register and keep songs short.

The band's first releases came in 2020, the singles "Jiu Jits You" and "I Don't Really Like It", followed in 2022 by the debut EP Baby Shack on Brace Yourself Records, which reached the top 100 of the UK Albums Sales Chart. Panic Shack played their first headline tour of UK venues the following year.

Their debut full album, Panic Shack, arrived in 2025 and reached number 32 on the UK Albums Chart while topping the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. A new single, "Grin & Bear It", produced by Ross Orton, followed in 2026. The band has also opened concert dates for the Sex Pistols.

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