The Ideal Panic
Maggie Mays
Taking the stage like a gang of pop divas, The Ideal Panic kick off their set with “Say!”, a blistering slice of snarling Rock ‘n’ Roll that is coated in swaggering attitude.
Maggie May’s in Glasgow is the scene chosen for the launch of their next single, “Precious Things”… and a precious evening it turns out to be. With support acts that tick every box in the NME checklist, attendees of this gig may be expecting a band layered in the current “Glasgow” sound, singing of drunken nights with beautiful girls and such like, but fortunately The Ideal Panic harbour a saving grace: they’re actually from the Shire (or Ayrshire, for the uninitiated).
“Say!”, the set opener, is fortunately nothing like the next Fratellis’ single and serves as a splendid way to begin the evening, setting the bar for the rest of the night. The Ideal Panic are one of those bands that as a musician you wish you had been part of, because their songs just resonate with crafted songwriting. With a rhythm section as tight as your average pop band and hooks that could topple a stack of “Now That’s What I Call Music…” compilations, its hard to understand why a band like The Ideal Panic haven’t started doing afternoon television appearances or something of that sort.
The band, whether they know it or not, have got more pop in them than all the Mikas and Lily Allens put together; pop being defined as a mix of catchy melodies, charming vocals and lyrics, and a cohesive sound that you can’t help but admire. And for all their pop similarities, The Ideal Panic are a strongly independent unit, releasing their singles (previous single “I See Too Much Of Myself In You” included) through their own iWant record and publishing imprint, which allows fans to construct their own “perfect album”. Each single is backed by two album tracks, giving fans the opportunity to put together the running order as they see it: a task which I’d find extremely hard since all 6 tracks released so far are of single quality.
Previous reviews have likened the band to The Doves, The Smiths, and Razorlight in their hay-day, which does seem like lazy journalism, but unfortunately, (or fortunately, whichever way you look at it), The Ideal Panic are a tricky band to describe, and trying to do so just undermines their originality and potential. In an ideal world, The Ideal Panic would be as big as the aforementioned Razorlight, minus the cocky swagger and 80’s pop replications they call singles. I guess time will tell, because it’s certainly on their side.
Cliché? Tick.
Taking the stage like a gang of pop divas, The Ideal Panic kick off their set with “Say!”, a blistering slice of snarling Rock ‘n’ Roll that is coated in swaggering attitude.Maggie May’s in Glasgow is the scene chosen for the launch of their next single, “Precious Things”… and a precious evening it turns out to be. With support acts that tick every box in the NME checklist, attendees of this gig may be expecting a band layered in the current “Glasgow” sound, singing of drunken nights with beautiful girls and such like, but fortunately The Ideal Panic harbour a saving grace: they’re actually from the Shire (or Ayrshire, for the uninitiated).
“Say!”, the set opener, is fortunately nothing like the next Fratellis’ single and serves as a splendid way to begin the evening, setting the bar for the rest of the night. The Ideal Panic are one of those bands that as a musician you wish you had been part of, because their songs just resonate with crafted songwriting. With a rhythm section as tight as your average pop band and hooks that could topple a stack of “Now That’s What I Call Music…” compilations, its hard to understand why a band like The Ideal Panic haven’t started doing afternoon television appearances or something of that sort.
The band, whether they know it or not, have got more pop in them than all the Mikas and Lily Allens put together; pop being defined as a mix of catchy melodies, charming vocals and lyrics, and a cohesive sound that you can’t help but admire. And for all their pop similarities, The Ideal Panic are a strongly independent unit, releasing their singles (previous single “I See Too Much Of Myself In You” included) through their own iWant record and publishing imprint, which allows fans to construct their own “perfect album”. Each single is backed by two album tracks, giving fans the opportunity to put together the running order as they see it: a task which I’d find extremely hard since all 6 tracks released so far are of single quality.
Previous reviews have likened the band to The Doves, The Smiths, and Razorlight in their hay-day, which does seem like lazy journalism, but unfortunately, (or fortunately, whichever way you look at it), The Ideal Panic are a tricky band to describe, and trying to do so just undermines their originality and potential. In an ideal world, The Ideal Panic would be as big as the aforementioned Razorlight, minus the cocky swagger and 80’s pop replications they call singles. I guess time will tell, because it’s certainly on their side.
Cliché? Tick.
