Panico – Kick

Album Review by Paul Mitchell | 14 Oct 2010
Album title: Kick
Artist: Panico
Label: Chemikal Underground
Release date: 11 Oct

It seems almost a cruel joke that Chemikal release this just as we approach the depths of winter, because Kick, from Chilean quintet Panico is the ideal soundtrack to all of summer's parties - well, the sordid, madcap ones anyway, but then those are always the best kind.

Opener Illumination establishes the motif. Piercing Joey Santiago-esque guitar riffs colliding with sparse, accelerated rhythm and the tortured, trilingual vocal delivery of singer Edu. This fusion of punk and electronica reaches its apogee on the groove-laden Reverberation Mambo, probably the album's highlight and guaranteed party starter.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much deviation from this template which, although fun, does cause attention to waver; although if you've ever wondered what a Latin American Jarvis Cocker would sound like then check out the idiosyncratic Waka Chiki. No, I don't know what it means either. [Paul Mitchell]

Playing Captain's Rest, Glasgow on 27 Nov

http://www.panico-band.com/