An excellent new four-track EP from London duo Panic Pocket . Cast adrift through the inconsistencies of modern life the pair sum it all up with dry wit and bittersweet irony tempered with an undercurrent of warmth….

1. The Boss After a harp glissando to start, the usual live line up of lo-fi guitar and mini-keyboard gets a kicking drumbeat and bass too behind the tale of unfair power structures in the workplace. With the cutting ‘…congratulations on your masculine power trip, save me a seat because it looks like I am coming too…’ and ‘…when will you listen to a single word I say, not gonna happen before close of play….’ the only answer to the irritations seems to be in the middle eight; ‘….got my P45, HR was never on my side….’.
Lyrically addictive, the word lines are duetted and interplayed between Sophie and Natalie into a frenetic and sparkling two and a quarter minutes.

2. You Have to Laugh There is a real melancholy underneath this description of non-compatibility and decline in a relationship. It is full of wryly crafted lines like ‘….we’ve been hanging out a while but I’m yet to see you crack a smile….’ as the music strolls along with the analogue keys filling out the sound. The despairing and repeating line ‘….you have to laugh, otherwise I’ll cry…’ sums it all up.

3. Pizza In My Pants Perceptive and fun tune celebrating escape from external pressures to succeed and endless planning ahead ‘….Emma’s got a house in the suburbs, she bought it with her banker husband, wonder if he has a brother?…’ ‘….Hannah’s baby’s due in the summer, she will be a brilliant mother, I’m not fussed about procreation, I prefer my PlayStation…’.
Featuring cool harmonies and percussion the song finally resolves into the defiant ‘…I’m not saving for a rainy day, I’m just doing it my way…’.

4. OK Cupid Another sadder track, the timeless idea of unrequited adoration set into the anonymity of social media. The music is as plaintive as the message, with yearning keyboard lines intertwined with the frustrated vocal.
This may be a low key, lo-fi song but like the rest of the EP it leaves a big impression….

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https://panicpocket.bandcamp.com/