The Panic Manual

Song of the Day: NOBRO – Girls Like Us

Posted on

19 Sep 2026

Paul

“Girls Like Us,” the latest single from Montreal punks NOBRO, is a bracing blast of pure rock ‘n’ roll with a strong feminist message. Bonus points to the band for a solid Descendents reference at the start of the song. Check it out.

Concert Review: Shitkid, September 17, Scala (London, UK)

Posted on

18 Sep 2026

Paul

A Shitkid reunion show was not on my bingo card for this year.

The Swedish punks, led by Åsa Söderqvist, first caught our attention at SXSW 2018, where they played the tiny, cramped stage at BD Riley’s, putting on a memorably bratty and energetic performance.

Flash forward a couple of years and Shitkid’s momentum was put on hold by COVID (though they did still manage to put four albums out that year) before calling it quits in 2021. And save for one posthumous album of unreleased recordings back in 2023, I’d assumed that would be it for Söderqvist and co.

But of course, as Springsteen once sang, everything that dies some day comes back, so I suppose I wasn’t all that surprised to see Shitkid back out on the road again last year. They even had a pair of Canadian dates lined up, though those were eventually cancelled.

So it was that I found myself in London to see the trio take to the stage at Scala to deliver a career-spanning set that included old favourites like “Detention” and “Sugar Town.” and also plenty of twirling on stage on Söderqvist’s part. I can only assume she went shopping before the tour, testing out numerous skirts until she found the right one with maximum twirling potential. Not sure how she avoided getting too dizzy onstage, though.

So, no, I never expected to see Shitkid live again in 2026. But I’m glad to be proven wrong. They did not disappoint.

Song of the Day: Lemongrab – Yoko

Posted on

17 Sep 2026

Paul

“Yoko” is the latest single from Berlin’s Lemongrab, taken off their new album Another Kind of Freedom, out now via Mothland & Chrüsimüsi Records. Check it out.

TIFF Review: Once Upon a Time in Harlem (William Greaves, David Greaves, 2026)

Posted on

16 Sep 2026

Paul

The Harlem Renaissance was an important period in American cultural history, one which saw a burgeoning of African-American art, music, literature, and political thought in the 1920s and 1930s. Once Upon a Time In Harlem gives us a glimpse of some of the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance in conversation, as they gathered together for a party at Duke Ellington’s house, organized by filmmaker William Greaves.

That party was, of course, captured on film by Greaves, who must have understood the significance of getting all of these cultural figures on record, while they were still around, to wax nostalgic on the old days and discuss the impact of the Harlem Renaissance. Among those gathered at the party: pianist Eubie Blake, writer Arna Bontemps, Richard B. Moore (amazingly billed onscreen as “Bookseller/Prominent Socialist” – what more needs to be said?), and self-proclaimed dilettante Richard Bruce Nugent. And though things start out kind of slow with some casual reminiscing, as the evening goes on, the talk gets more robust as they get into it a bit more, discussing, debating, and reflecting on the cultural shift which was happening at the time.

The footage from that party, taken in the early 1970s, has finally been released as a complete film by Greaves’ son David, and for those interested in hearing it straight from the mouths of those who were there, Once Upon a Time In Harlem is a compelling document of a fascinating moment in time.

TIFF Review: Turtle Island Rap (Alexandra Lazarowich, 2026)

Posted on

15 Sep 2026

Paul

“I wanna be in the game, man. I wanna make something people know, even if for a month.”

Those words, courtesy of Navajo rapper Travis Thompson, are the first we hear in Turtle Island Rap, Alexandra Lazarowich’s compelling portrait of three up-and-coming Indigenous rappers, and they help set the tone right off the bat. Also featured are Toronto-based Anishnabek rapper Wiidaaseh and Arizona’s A$h Da Hunter, who make similar statements, with A$h saying she can’t see herself doing anything other than music with her life. At its core, this is a film about people following their dreams because they feel compelled to do so. They’re all in the rap game for the love of the music.

While A$h Da Hunter notes at one point that she doesn’t want to be known simply as “a Native rapper,” it’s undeniable that the community, culture and heritage of each artist factors into their work somehow. Thompson makes that clear in one scene where he tells the crowd at one of his shows, “This shit was not made for us, but we gonna take up space.” Ultimately, Turtle Island Rap is a celebration of Indigenous artists working to carve out space for themselves while staying true to the music they love.

Concert Review: The Callous Daoboys, September 13, East End United

Posted on

14 Sep 2026

Paul

“Toronto, y’all are crazy.”

So said Callous Daoboys frontman Carson Pace to the fairly hyped up crowd on Sunday night at East End United and I have to say – fair assessment. The energy at this show was indeed pretty crazy and also a little infectious. Now, I am old and tired, so I was most definitely not mixing it up in the pit with all the roundhouse kickers and cartwheelers, but I appreciate the enthusiasm.

I also appreciate a good spoonerism, so any band that gives themselves a ridiculous (but admittedly kind of clever) name like The Callous Daoboys is alright in my books. And if you will allow me one quick digression, I’d like to point out that I saw a poster on the TTC on my way to the show promoting their new fare capping policy and, naturally my oddly wired brain, uniquely attuned to looking for spoonerisms after years of training, couldn’t help but think: “Care fapping.” And now you’re thinking it too. You’re welcome. Now back to our regularly scheduled review.

Musically, The Callous Daoboys are all over the place, with some jazzy, almost George Benson-esque guitar licks slipping in from time to time and breakbeats and other samples floating in between tracks, though “heavy” is always the default. While the band uses brutal metalcore as the template, their genre-hopping, chaotic, everything-and-also-the-kitchen-sink vibe is what makes them worth listening to. And live, the band was definitely feeding off the crowd’s energy and putting on an impressive performance.

Touring behind their latest, 2025’s I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven, the Atlanta mathcore six-piece came on strong, starting things off with recently released single “Gigantic Parasite Tongue.” Their set focused largely on the new album and really highlighted the band’s eclectic and adventurous sound. When asked in a recent interview to describe their sound to someone who hadn’t heard them before, guitarist Dan Hodson described it thusly: “It sounds like having fun.” Again, fair assessment. The band definitely looked like they were having fun up on that stage and band members could even be spotted stage side earlier in the evening taking in each of the opening acts and absolutely enjoying themselves. So yeah, I’d say they’re having fun.