Panic Shack return with their blistering new single ‘Gok Wan’
Panic Shack return with their blistering new single ‘Gok Wan’
Panic Shack return with their blistering new single ‘Gok Wan’, a taste of their highly anticipated debut album. The release comes ahead of their UK headline tour this May.
Cardiff's very own punk pioneers Panic Shack have returned with a bang, unleashing their blistering new single ‘Gok Wan’ and an accompanying video (watch below), out now via Brace Yourself Records. The track, premiered by Huw Stephens on BBC 6 Music, is the first taste of their highly anticipated debut album.
The band, previously featured in Issue 4 of our For Your Consideration print magazine, are known for their frenetic live shows and have been tearing up stages at festivals like Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Green Man, and SXSW, as well as touring with the likes of Bob Vylan and Soft Play.
'Gok Wan' sees the band taking on the toxic culture of body 'improvement' shows that dominated the airwaves in the noughties during their formative years via towering walls of guitars, propulsive drums and a laser-focused vocal turn from Harvey as she stares down the patriarchy head on. Produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Yard Act), it's quite possibly the biggest Panic Shack have ever sounded and a perfect primer for the band's much-anticipated run across the UK this May on their headline Don't Quit Your Day Job Tour.
The single is accompanied by a stark, unadulterated video that perfectly plays on the societal pressures for women to work hard to adhere to a certain type of male gaze-coded body image, directed by Ren Faulkner with choreography by Lauren Fretwell.
Speaking of the track’s inception, Panic Shack said;
“Growing up in the ‘00s we were bombarded with constant images of super skinny models and ‘IT girls’ as well as TV shows all about ‘looking good’ and ‘being thin’. We wanted to write a song that embodied the ludicrous nature of what we were consuming as literal children and how it affected us then and to this day.
”We dug deep into our shared memories of that time, bought some trashy magazines at the corner shop and watched some old shows on YouTube, ‘Trinny and Susannah’ and ‘Ten Years Younger’ being a couple… but honestly there are SO MANY to choose from. It was shocking to watch them back. The stark difference to what’s acceptable now, discussing women’s bodies with such negativity felt satirical, albeit a plus knowing things have come along a fair bit since then. We took headlines from the magazines and worked a few into the lyrics, ‘fat or pregnant’ being one, yes that’s a genuine magazine headline.
“The title ‘Gok Wan’ comes from the show he presented How To Look Good Naked which in all honestly was one of the better shows, in terms of negativity but still obviously had the main focus on women’s bodies. No hate to Gok (Trinny and Susannah didn’t have the same ring to it for a title), it was the time we lived in and through but it was still shit, it still shaped our little teenager minds into this grown-up hellscape of constantly focusing on how we look rather than what we do.”
‘Gok Wan’ is the first release from Panic Shack since their 2022 single ‘Meal Deal’ and the sold-out ‘Baby Shack’ EP. The band has garnered widespread acclaim from not just here at For Your Consideration but also the likes of NME, The Guardian, DIY, as well as support from BBC 6 Music and beyond.
Don't Quit Your Day Job Tour
Panic Shack are hitting the road this May for their headline "Don't Quit Your Day Job Tour." Several dates are already sold out, however there is still chances to catch the group here in Wales with Panic Shack set to play FOCUS Wales in Wrexham, In It Together Festival in Port Talbot and their own headline show at Newport’s new Corn Exchange.
May 1st | Nottingham, UK - Bodega [sold out]
May 2nd | Cambridge, UK - MASH
May 3rd | Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre
May 6th | Brighton, UK - Patterns [sold out]
May 8th | Birmingham, UK - The Castle & Falcon
May 9th | Wrexham, UK - FOCUS Wales
May 10th | Leeds, UK - The Wardrobe
May 11th | Newcastle, UK - Cluny
May 13th | Glasgow, UK - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut
May 14th | Sheffield, UK - Yellow Arch Studios [sold out]
May 15th | Liverpool, UK - Arts Club
May 16th | Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall
May 18th | Oxford, UK - The Bullingdon [sold out]
May 19th | Southampton, UK - Papillon
May 20th | Milton Keynes, UK - Craufurd Arms
May 22nd | Bristol, UK - Thekla [sold out]
May 23rd | Port Talbot, UK - In It Together Festival
May 25th | Newport, UK - Corn Exchange
May 28th | London, UK - The Garage
July 10th | Cheltenham, UK - Upcote Farm
July 18th | Portishead, UK - Homestead Festival
You can find tickets for the tour here: https://linktr.ee/panicshack
Keep your eyes peeled for more from Panic Shack throughout 2025!