An all-female punk band from Wales performed at the Heineken No Lineup Festival after releasing their debut album
The world of rock and punk isn’t exactly welcoming to women. But not that it makes much difference to the girls of the Panic huta Welsh band that was one of the surprises of At the Training Festival, from the Heinekenthis Saturday, the 25th.
The presentation, in fact, was a surprise, at a certain level, even for the members themselves. A week ago they discovered the show in Brazil. They arrived on Friday the 24th and spent “the whole day at the pool”.
The quartet formed by Sarah Harvey, Meg Fretwell, Romi Lawrence and Emily Smith responded perfectly to the event’s proposal: introducing new names, arousing surprise and creating buzz after the show. And that’s exactly what the four have set out to do since the start of their careers in 2018 in Cardiff.
Today Panic Shack have already become a sort of “cult” band on the fringes of the mainstream. But the origins of the band are very underground. They came from the working class of the Welsh city and set out to do the same thing they saw the men doing on stage: move the pedals. “If they’re doing it, it can’t be that hard (no offense),” Meg joked about the band’s origins in an interview with The Line of the Best Fit magazine.
It took seven years for the band’s debut album to reach the world – right now, and it’s already been praised Caretaker. Meanwhile they face the antipathy of the public and also of the “old guard” of rock and punk.
“When we started, a lot of people didn’t take us seriously. Industry people, sound engineers, a lot of people dissatisfied with their work. They didn’t like working with us. We forced ourselves into the music industry and made space for ourselves,” the members report in an interview with Estadao shortly before the show in Sao Paulo.
Before they even released the album, they had already been “cancelled” on TikTok. The Icksince 2022, it has gone viral on the Internet, and many Internet users have criticized the group for “impersonating the working class” – despite this being actually the origin of the four.
But the specialized critics, years later, accepted Panic hut (the album) with fury. THE The Guardian have described the four’s sound as “joyous anarchy” – and embrace the title. “We have fun on stage and I think that rubs off on the audience too,” says Romi Lawrence.
The lyrics are sharp: they combine humor with the challenges a woman faces in society. And the inspirations are countless and range from the Viagra Boys to the Spice Girls.
In Girl band starter packpunk becomes a sort of “aesthetic video” of TikTok: “I wake up, I text the girls. Let’s have a coffee, four iced cappuccinos.” Of course, it’s all ironic, but it’s also clear that it’s the kind of thing that, when combined with the choreography that the four do on stage, easily goes viral on the video network.
“It happened to us and it was completely random,” says Sarah Harvey. “We weren’t mad about it. I think we went on tour at the right time. We were having fun on TikTok and it happened,” adds Emily Smith.
But there are also dense letters. In Smellaratthey describe the feeling of meeting a man who sexually abuses women: “You’re a predator and girls are afraid of you.”
When asked what’s most punk about being a woman, members associate the answer with “existing.” “You just have to justify everything a man could do in any way. The physical expression, the attitude, whatever you want to do in life… It’s kind of like having to adapt to every situation.”
The No Lineup Festival started at 3pm, at the Fábrica de Impressões, in Barra Funda, and has already hosted names such as Don L, Soccer Mommy and TV on the Radio. The event continues until 3am, with a surprise lineup to be revealed on site.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
