Green Man Interview: Panic Shack discuss supporting the Sex Pistols ahead of their performance tonight

Amelia Jones

Welsh punk band Panic Shack make their mission clear from the start: high-energy noise, unfiltered chaos, and zero apologies. The four-piece bring raw attitude to the stage, serving up fast, punchy tracks backed by deadpan humor and sharp, relatable lyrics about modern life.

Their music kicks off with ambient clips recorded outside gig venues, setting a chaotic tone for tracks with brilliantly blunt titles like Gok Wan, The Ick, and Who’s Got My Lighter? Every song packs tongue-in-cheek wisecracks, heavy basslines, and loud, catchy hooks designed to get crowds moving.

Speaking with Nation.Cymru at Green Man, Sarah Harvey (lead vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar and backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar and backing vocals) and Emily Smith (bass). Although Harvey was on vocal rest ahead of their performance tonight, the band discussed supporting the Sex Pistols and keeping their live shows wild, fun, and totally unpolished.

You formed the band with relatively no music experience. Does that learn as you go energy still drive you today?

Meg: Yeah, I would say we do.

Emily: Yeah. We literally would just get up here and not know how to use any of the amps and only got one pair, but still I don’t even know how to work that. So we’re just learning on the job.

Your songs turn everyday annoyances into punk anthems – what’s the latest thing annoying you enough to write a song about today?

Meg: You said one just now, didn’t you?

Emily: Yeah. Patronising men, thinking they’re funny.

Romi: Yeah, that and 1000 other things, but just can’t remember them right now.

What comes first in your songwriting?

Meg: It’s a a thought, an inside joke.

Romi: Sometimes a title we like to come up with, don’t we, and then we break the song from there.

Meg: But it’s always it’s pretty much always lyrics before music, yeah. Like a funny joke, or a funny voice memo or something.

Your live set usually has great choreo, how much rehearsal time goes into dance routines?

Romi: Absolutely none. We like to do that in five minutes before we’re about to go on stage.

Meg: Yeah, no practicing. We just do it and then see what happens.

You recently opened for The Sex Pistols, what was it like playing to that all-punk crowd?

Emily: They were a bit tired the first time round, and then they were the second time round. I think it was their knees probably.

Romi: It did make me laugh when Frank Carter said that about their knees. Your hips, and your knees, they need to be loosened up.

Meg: And we were there to loosen them up

Cardiff’s scene is buzzing right now, what makes the south Wales community so special?

Emily: I’d say the community, the community are all just really happy for each other.

I would say south Walians are just the funniest people ever.

Romi: Yeah I would say that. Not to blow around Trumpets like.

Meg: Toot toot!

For anyone seeing you for the first time, what’s the number 1 rule in a Panic Shack mosh pit?

They all chorus: To get loose, get leery, get loud, get crazy, get naughty, get silly, get loud, get freaky.

Meg:  Oh, we forgot the words. That’s Sarah’s job usually

You can listen to the band here.

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