Panic Shack have never been ones to hold their tongues, and their new single Gok Wan proves they’re not about to start now. The Cardiff punk quintet have been building a name for themselves with their raw, no-nonsense energy, unfiltered humour, and feminist bite, calling out the everyday absurdities women have to deal with. From Meal Deal’s takedown of terrible dates to The Ick’s hilarious, relatable rant about turn-offs, their music is as much about catharsis as it is about chaos.
With Gok Wan, Panic Shack turn their focus to something much darker—growing up in an era where TV makeover shows thrived on tearing women down. Over a jagged, pogo-ready bassline, they spit out memories of being young girls bombarded with messages that their bodies weren’t good enough. The opening line hits like a gut punch: “I was 10 years old, weighing my fat rolls, just ‘cause I thought I should.” It’s the kind of lyric that stops you in your tracks because, let’s be real, how many of us did the exact same thing? Shows like How to Look Good Naked and 10 Years Younger masqueraded as empowerment while reinforcing the same old rubbish—women should always be striving to fix themselves.
Gok Wan is one of Panic Shack’s sharpest tracks yet, balancing fury with tongue-in-cheek delivery. It’s sarcastic, it’s self-aware, and it channels the best of 90s riot grrrl spirit—think Bikini Kill meets The Slits, with a bit of Amyl and The Sniffers chaos thrown in. The accompanying video, drives home the song’s message, taking a cold, unsettling look at the pressure to conform to impossible beauty standards.
There’s something exhilarating about the way Panic Shack package serious commentary into songs that are pure, sweaty, cathartic fun. Gok Wan is an anthem for every woman who’s ever side-eyed the beauty industry, for every girl who grew up thinking she wasn’t enough, and for anyone who just wants to scream F** THAT* at the top of their lungs in a mosh pit.
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Review by Hayley Foster da Silva
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