New Release – PANIC! by The Gastown Panic (pt 2)
The Gastown Panic will release their second studio album on the 22nd of August. It’s called ‘PANIC!’. Find out more about the writing and recording process of the new album.
GJ: “Obviously Covid-19 restrictions stopped us from working together for 12 months or so. On a positive note, we now have a backlog of songs to push on and record.”
MH: “I think it has taken us around 2 years to get the whole thing together. We released ‘I’ve Forgotten You (More Than I Care To Remember)’ in November 2019 and were really happy with it and then the process really started to slow down in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions. Getting ‘The Shun’ out last year in between lockdowns was a real bonus, and we picked up some great airplay support from Radio Wigwam – where we’re now proud to be part of the team, The Warp Factor show and, of course, on your excellent Cool Top 20 chart. We’re excited to get it out there and equally excited to move on to our backlog of new tunes.”
You can hear the Gastown Panic Radio Show fortnightly on radiowigwam.co.uk
MH: “We’ve been recording at Chime Studios for years starting way back when we were both in a previous band together. It’s an excellent studio in Glasgow, owned and operated by Ross McGowan who always manages to get the sound and mix exactly how we want it. Plus he is very patient which, as anyone who’s heard our radio show will know, is a pre-requisite.”
Can we expect any music videos?
MH: “We’ve done a lyric video (of sorts) for ‘See You Next Tuesday’ but have no real plans to do more. It does interest us – some of the videos that Lines Of Flight have done recently are excellent, so never say never, but we’re more likely to put the effort into more songwriting once a track is written & recorded.”
About the artwork:
GJ: “The story behind the artwork was to be as eye-catching as possible. You know when you walk past your local corner shop and they are advertising bleach and bread for 19 pence on a hi-viz star shape. That is the sort of impact we are going for.”
MH: “The exclamation mark in Panic! evokes memories of the Roy Lichtenstein pop art style, so that was the touch point – Wham!, Pow!, Panic!. Maybe we should have called it Wham! We’ve always seen ourselves as the drinking man’s Wham!”
In tomorrow’s final part 3 you can read about their favourite song of the new album and their expectations.