London-based Panic Pocket are Sophie Peacock and Natalie Healey. Mad Half Hour is the first single from their debut album, also entitled Mad Half Hour -out on the 26th of May on Skep Wax.
Out this Friday, ‘Mad Half Hour’ is an arms aloft, strident empowering singalong ripe with a hook laden sway. Concerned with the semi-philosophical musings of a nineties pop icon, it’s a loving tribute. Panic Pocket warp a litany of strangely inspirational quotes into an anthem about lost friends, faded glamour, and the need to go wild as and when required. Watch the smart accompanying video with its tributes to the era of silent movies and 60s cinema, that we are debuting below.
“Mad Half Hour” is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a 90s icon who turned ‘Girl Power’ into a slogan. Sure, this might not have been the revolutionary feminist moment the music industry tried to package it as. But for millions, Panic Pocket included, it was an awakening. Mad Half Hour turns these conflicted feelings into a joyous anthem about the power of nostalgia and contemplates what happens when the pop party is over and everyone moves on. As the music video shows, sometimes the key to your most authentic self is found in the dressing-up box.
When you’ve known someone since the age of 11, your worldviews start to meld into one. That’s a powerful thing – a slightly intimidating one too – and it’s the foundation that Panic Pocket is built upon. Natalie (guitar/vocals) and Sophie (keys/vocals) know all of each other’s secrets, but they write songs as if they know a few of yours too.
Formed in 2017, Panic Pocket soon became a DIY sensation, releasing debut EP Never Gonna Happen, with Reckless Yes in 2019. For their first album, Mad Half Hour, the duo have found a new home.
“Me and Rob first heard Panic Pocket during lockdown and played their first single again and again.” says Skep Wax co-founder Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly/Catenary Wires/Swansea Sound) of their newest signing. “They reminded me of lots of bands I love – Bratmobile, Lovely Eggs, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre – while also being completely unique. We were delighted that they wanted to do their first album with us – and agreed to play live with us at the Heavenly shows in May. Panic Pocket know how to turn anger and humour into brilliant pop songs.”
Many of Mad Half Hour’s 10 indie-pop anthems are concerned with being at odds with life’s accepted milestones, feeling alienated from the people you thought wanted the same things as you, while trying to forge your own path. Panic Pocket’s superpower is their sense of fun. On Mad Half Hour, you’re never more than a few seconds away from a monster hook, killer harmony or an acerbically witty turn of phrase worthy of the band’s heroes Aimee Mann or Liz Phair. From receiving a cryptic “frog emoji” from a long-forgotten one-night stand, to ‘Don’t Get Me Started’s streetlit walk of shame “via Morrisons car park”, no memory is off-limits.
Bandcamp: https://skepwax.bandcamp.com
https://panicpocket.bandcamp.com
Upcoming shows
LONDON | INDIEPOP ALL-DAYER | April 8 | The Cavendish Arms
LONDON | May 19,20 | Bush Hall | Supporting Heavenly (Sold Out)
LONDON | MAD HALF HOUR ALBUM LAUNCH | May 26 | The Cavendish Arms
LONDON | SKEP WAX SUMMER FÊTE | June 30 | The Lexington
