The Panic Manual

Song of the Day: LAPêCHE – Autotelic Nosebleed

Posted on

5 Jul 2025

Paul

“Autotelic Nosebleed” is the latest single from Brooklyn’s LAPêCHE, out now via Tiny Engines. Check it out.

Concert Review: Les Hay Babies, July 3, Horseshoe Tavern

Posted on

4 Jul 2025

Paul

Fourteen years in, and Les Hay Babies are still finding new things out about themselves. Like the fact that they’re all the youngest siblings in their families. And not just the core trio, but the whole gang – drummer, guitarist, even their sound guy. Yes, Les Hay Babies are literally the babies of their respective families. The band proudly proclaimed this fact (as well as the detail that they were all also unexpected “mistakes”) before launching into “Dernière mais non la moindre,” their twangy ode to being the youngest. The title translates to “last but not least,” which is both a charming deflection and maybe also an unofficial slogan for the band.

Decked out in matching red fringed cowgirl outfits, Les Hay Babies turned the Horseshoe into a bilingual honky-tonk for the night. Starting things off strong with opener “Soyez fiers,” the Moncton-based band put on a fantastic show that showcased their unique indie folk sound. Their country/rockabilly-inspired Francophone tunes proved to be quite infectious, drawing in a large contingent of French-speaking fans alongside a good number of Anglos like myself and even a few who’d never even heard of the band before tonight. As an Anglophone with somewhat rusty high school French rattling around the recesses of my brain, I must admit I had to concentrate a bit during some of the stage banter like I was taking a pop quiz. But it was worth it – half the fun was decoding the jokes, stories and other commentary. The band are not just talented performers, but natural storytellers too.

And let’s face it – Les Hay Babies are a very charming band. I’d wager that even those who came in unfamiliar left as fans. They put on a great, energetic show that, ultimately, was just a fun time. You couldn’t ask for more – except maybe a crash course in remedial French beforehand.

Song of the Day: GRÓA – Ugh-Skipti (Roskilde 2025)

Posted on

3 Jul 2025

Paul

Yesterday, we highlighted one of the many bands that played this past weekend’s Glastonbury Festival with a feature on Melbourne’s Glass Beams. And today, we keep the music festival love going, turning our attention to Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, one of my favourites and a festival I’ve attended several times,

One of the many cool things about Roskilde is that in the days leading up to the festival proper, they have a handful of warm up days, known as “First Days,” in which the festival hosts several up and coming young acts, giving them a chance to be seen by one of the largest European festival crowds, with several of the acts who’ve played these warm up days having later gone on to play during the main festival.

One such act is Icelandic noise-punk band GRÓA, who played the festival’s Gaia stage this past Monday as part of this year’s First Days. Check out their performance of “Ugh-Skipti” below.

Song of the Day: Glass Beams – Mahal (Glastonbury 2025)

Posted on

2 Jul 2025

Paul

This past weekend saw plenty of great performances at this year’s Glastonbury Festival and for those of us who weren’t lucky enough to be there in person, the BBC has made plenty of videos available on their YouTube page. I personally enjoyed living vicariously through these videos as I watched from the far less muddy and far more comfortable confines of my couch at home.

And while some of the highlights came from established acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Wolf Alice, Japanese Breakfast and Olivia Rodrigo’s surprise collaboration with Robert Smith, we’ll shine the spotlight today on one of the acts that was new to me amongst the performers at this year’s fest – Melbourne’s Glass Beams. Check out the video for their live performance of “Mahal” below.

Concert Review: Devo, June 30, History

Posted on

1 Jul 2025

Paul

On Monday night, Devo took to the stage at History as part of their 50 Years of De-Evolution… continued! tour, playing a set full of hits from throughout their career for a packed house full of spuds young and old. Well, probably mostly old.

The band took the stage around 8:15, launching straight into a tightly packed set that wrapped up just after 9:30. No openers, no downtime – just a whole lot of Devo straight out the gate.

Well, ok, not a whole lot – while it was a solid set, it did seem maybe a tad too short, especially with no opening act. But honestly? I’m OK with that. These guys are in their 70s, and they still pulled off multiple costume changes, a full visual production, and a setlist that hit pretty much every note you’d want. “Whip It,” “Girl U Want,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Jocko Homo,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – all present and accounted for. Even newer tracks like “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” sounded like classics. All in all, a very satisfying set from a legendary group. And everyone still got to be in bed before 11:00 if they wanted. Not bad.

Song of the Day: Atsuko Chiba – Pope’s Cocaine

Posted on

29 Jun 2025

Paul

“Pope’s Cocaine” is the latest single from Montreal’s Atsuko Chiba, out now via Mothland. Check it out.