Album Review - Word Magazine UK
The Panics write the kind of wide angled, cinematic orchestral rock that makes you think of Morriconi film scores and wild horses disapearing over sandy hills. Like fellow echoey Perth exports The Triffids, their musicall world is one of isolation and wide open spaces. Opening track 'Get us Home' sounds like its being played on the back of a creaky locomotive crossing the great plains, as front man Jae Laffer opens a sluice of droll and road weary refrains. "Don't fight it" shows the bands more soulful side with horns and hammond. A refreshingly lush and intricate guitar group emerging from a relatively tunesless time in rock.
Album Review - Mojo Magazine UK
Sometimes one inspired musical snapshot can set the mood for an entire album - a breakneck guitar riff, a haunting vocal. On “Cruel Guards” it arrives with the sweeping strings of “Get Us Home” an Ennio Morricone tinged epic that somehow captures all the drama of a marauding gang riding into the sunset. This spaghetti western theme runs throughout, from the shimmering guitars of “Creaks” through to “Live Without’ and its marching drums. Elsewhere, singer/songwriter Jae Laffer draws from a raft of influences from Echo and the Bunnymen to Sleepy Jackson (“Something in the garden”). It’s on “Don’t fight it”, that he plays his trump card, however, with heart torn lyricism and sweeping melody. It’s little wonder that Laffer’s band has been name checked by Kings of Leon and Noel Gallagher. Matt Allen
Cruel Guards Review - Evening Telegraph London England
Brilliant album inspired by the LAs and The Smiths, stadium sized songs full of subtle hypnotic pop flourishes which are embellished by sweeping string arrangements
Cruel Guards Review - Daily Mail England
There are traces of The Bunnymen , The LAs and Elbow but the quintet taking their cue from frontman Jae Laffer's vivd songs have their own voice
Cruel Guards Review - Sheffield Star England
The whole package oozes quality, classic string arrangements showcase Laffer's Dylan esque vocal to create something hovering between Echo and The Bunnymen and Last Shadow Puppets, great band, great name , even greater album
Cruel Guards Review - The Ulster Star
The Panics have recorded an album that brims with effervescent pop tunes and epic harmonies, rather than one or two stand out tracks the whole album is a beautiful creation and is almost certain to be a summer hit
Chester Chronicle England
Jae Laffer's husky weary delivery is instantly remiscent of Luna's Dean Wareman or Calexico's Joey Burns. The band's mid paced rock also bears comparison to those bands
Bournemouth Daily Echo England
Australia's answer to The Roses, Smiths and The Bunnymen rolled into one package blending widescreen Morricone strings, lysurgic beats , jangle guitar and vocal leers
Cruel Guards album review - TNT Magazine London England
With a name like the Panics you'd expect abrasive garage music but actually the bands stock in trade is grand sweeping string arrangements and an Englist Lit. approach to lyrics. On listening to the wonderful swirling "Get us Home" and the rousing horn assisted "Don't Fight it" it's little wonder they caught the ear of Factory label founder Tony Wilson shortly before he died. LOVELY.
"Don't Fight It" Review Selby Times England
"Don't fight it" is steeped in the sounds of the north west of England, most notably the Smiths, The Stone Roses and most closely Echo and The Bunneymen. This is a swaggering drooling attitude infused cracker. It's easy to see why the band was championed by the late Tony Wilson and no coincidence that Happy Mondays drummer Gaz Whelan was the first spot their potential and get them to sign on the dotted line.
The Sunday Times - London England
"Cruel Guards" is The Panics first release in Britain. "Don't Fight it" epitomises The Panics strenghts; deceptively laidback, it sidles up with a calming blanket of hammond organ, brass, strings and a sonorous piano and a chorus - "Don't fight it if you don't know what it is" - of such simplicity you are forced to agree and adopt it as a mantra, definately one for moments of mid afternoon inertia in the months ahead. The remaining nine tracks on their album mine a similarly pop bliss seam.
"Don't Fight it" Review - The Metro London England
The Panics attempt to woo Britain with sweeping, silky smooth string arrangments, atmospheric organs, dynamic drops and lyrics about embracing the unknown. They may not be fighters but they took on our CD player.....And Won!!
The Sun Newspaper - England
The Panics "Don't Fight it" single is an ageless combination of Jae Laffer's serene vocals and an harmonious accompaniment. The soundtrack for mellow summers ahead.
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce was left sobbing after It for the first time. it seems the hotly-tipped band made Sam’s recent trip to Spain one to remember. Frontman JAE LAFFER said: "The people at our label are very friendly with Sam and invited him and his lovely wife to our villa while we were on holiday. "I played him a song on a piano and it went down very well. Sam even shed a tear." The five-piece moved to Manchester two months ago after being spotted and signed by HAPPY MONDAYS’ drummer GAZ WHELAN. And they’ve quickly been sucked into the northern city’s huge football culture. Perth-born Jae said: "Our label are huge United fans and before we arrived in the UK it was all they ever talked about. They’ve taken us to Old Trafford for a few games since we got here. "They even made us to go the museum so we could appreciate the great history of the club "Old Trafford is an unbelievable place though. "Having tens of thousands of people singing together is amazing - whether it be football or at a gig. The band even got a personal introduction to the city’s nightspots by Red Devil defender WES BROWN. Jae said: "Wes is a great guy. We’ve been out with him a few times. "He’s fun to hang out with. Manchester is such a great city. "The city is the birthplace of where a lot of our music is inspired by. I love MORISSEY and OASIS, "It's so nice to know NOEL GALLAGHER grew up in the area near where we live. He has always been my hero." Jae’s dream came true last year when he was asked to support Noel on his solo tour Down Under. And the band have close ties with another legendary rock outfit, AC/DC. Jae said: "It’s cool to have such a prestigious link with the band. MYLES and DREW’s dad John used to play in a band called THE VALENTINES with AC/DC star BON SCOTT. "They met when Bon was the family’s postman. It’s great having the same origin as such a great band. They grew up in Perth as did we."
Release of the Week - Boyz UK
With a mournful church organ and blasting horns The Panics "Don't Fight it" has spine tingling close to heart wrenching melody. Dripping with meloncholy, Jae Laffer's voice sings "Don't Fight it if you don't know what it is". The result is a potent mix of sadness and the uplifting. Simple yet startlingly powerful.
The Panics at University of East Anglia Norwich - Norwich Evening News England
There's quite a buzz surrounding this night's support act The Panics and as such the UEA is virtually full by the time the five-piece arrive on-stage.
The Australian band already have three albums behind them, are a big hit in their homeland and popular in the US, but are only now making serious waves in the UK.
However, judging by their stuff tonight that could all be about to change as their melodic, guitar and keyboard-led indie goes down a real hit with the crowd.
They're a real smorgasbord of sounds, part Grandaddy, part Midlake, part The Decemberists, part Nick Cave and even part Beta Band.
They're a real joy to listen to and well worth further exploration.
The Panics Norwich UEA, UK - GIITTV
Hailing from Perth in Western Australia, The Panics embark on their first UK Tour proper supporting Scottish pop sensation Paolo Nutini. The Panics have a mixture of influences behind their indie rock sound including British legends such as The Smiths.
The band’s sound is first and foremost very polished and professional and at times very understated. The music ranges from the melancholic to the uplifting with a steady base of chords on which soaring additions from the keyboard and electric guitar are layered. Their mellow, contemplative style bares most notable comparison to the work of The Shins and selected material by the likes of Placebo , Death Cab for Cutie and Elbow. However, the horn sections and Laffer’s vocals set The Panics apart.
Latest single Don’t Fight It stood out as a fantastic live track, as did Confess, another of the impressive tracks from latest award winning album Cruel Guards. What is so enjoyable about the band’s music is the sense of place and atmosphere evoked in many of the tracks. A scene from a brooding Western set amidst the fiery, sun-blazed outback of Western Australia springs to mind. Aside from the cinematic, The Panics are a band more than worthy of gracing our festival stages this year and as expressed by lead singer Jae, it is something they’d love to do this year. Paul Cook
The Panics - Cruel Guards - Winston's Zen List - UK
Rythmic, poignaint, piano led indie with the kind of chorus that swirls darkly round the room before burying itself in your subconcious.
Maddog Magazine "Don't Fight it" single review England
The debut single from the Panics is a perfect start to the summer season, with its heaving, swirling organ and piano parts pulling you back into memories of cruising with your car windows down. This timeless piece of pop greatness comes to life mainly thru singer Jae Laffer's baritone vocal arrangement, complimeted by a sunkissed guitar ryhthm section. Beautiful.
Virgin Music: Cruel Guards Album Review England
The Panics are the latest foreign phenomenon trying to make a name for themselves in the UK. The five-piece band from Perth, Australia have already reached national success in their homeland and are now here for a string of support shows before their own headline tour beginning at the end of May. Spotted playing in a hotel in 2000 by Gaz Wheelan (of The Happy Mondays) and Pete Carroll they were subsequently signed to LittleBIGMAN Records and have been building an impressive list of fans since, including Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill.
Cruel Guards blends contagiously catchy, sun-soaked melodies and basic, chilled out pop rock; it is definitely one for the summer. The slide guitar and subtle hammond organ on tracks like Ruins sounds like it could be from any of The Shins’ back catalogue (no easy feat) and the riff on Creak is so addictive you’re sure to be humming it for hours. The strings, trumpet and organ are ever present and help to give the album a timeless sound that is sometimes reminiscent of The Beatles‘ Rubber Soul/Revolver era or The Vines‘ softer side.
Don’t Fight It, the bands first single off the album is a very catchy and accomplished song (as evident by its recent airtime success with support from Radio 2 and XFM), though I feel that you also need to listen to tracks like Ruins or Creaks to give you a better idea of the band’s overall sound. The title track is a sophisticated and moving piano-led piece whilst Something In The Garden really brings out the country rock feel that is discretely present throughout the record and seems to have traces of some America or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tracks.
Cruel Guards has already been well received in Australia picking up a string of awards including an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) for Best Album. This is a great record and it’s only a matter of time before The Panics are making the headlines in the UK. 8/10. Tom Sowerby
The Panics: Live at Music 4 Studios London England
Words by Lou Macleod
The Panics come from A Land Down Under. Legends in their homeland and counting the Kings of Leon as part of their legion of notable admirers, you can only blame Geography for why they’re not yet legends over here.
As part of an extensive tour around the UK to promote their award winning album Cruel Guards, they played an intimate show case, with hardly enough room to swing a koala bear, at Music 4 studios. The set was mesmerizing.
The antipodean five-piece created a perfect balance of sound; dense, rich and textured, sweeping and big, almost encapsulating their immense native soil, mixed with beautiful guitar solos and thought provoking, clever, meaningful and sometimes dark lyrics. Jae Laffers’ lead vocals are a blend of Peter Bjorn And John’s Young Folks and a soft Steve Earl-esque drawl; delicate and emotive.
They opened with Something in the Garden, which has a mystical, pistols at dawn vibe, and a telling introduction to their unique, complex sound and crafted words. Next was Ruins, a bitter sweet break up song, lyrically reminiscent of Bob Dylans’ It Ain’t Me Babe. The comparisons with Dylan don’t end there, either, as The Panics’ expressive storytelling ability is similarly poetic. Creaks followed, evoking commanding and beautiful imagery; ‘I have closed your door, I’ve marked out the creaks in the floor’ about leaving a lover while they sleep, without making a sound.
The Panics stage presence is captivating and you are conscious that you’re watching a band 7 years and three albums down the line, as there is a real succinct energy, harmony and connectivity in their movements and playing. These are five prodigiously gifted musicians.
Title track Cruel Guards was the darkest song of the set, almost a spiritual dirge, yet weirdly uplifting in its identification and mutual understanding of sadness, like a protest song. The penultimate tune was their debut single in the UK (getting massive airplay on Xfm) - Don’t Fight It, an empowering sentiment, with stirring gospel organs, evocative of the moving emotion in The Beatles’ Let It Be.
They finished all too soon with Get us Home, an epic song with rolling beautiful strings. Jae Laffer describes its sound like ‘a bunch of us riding over a hill into a dusty town…’
The response of the crowd at the end was rapturous but alas, no encore as they left everyone there wanting more.
So, go see The Panics before they go back half way round the world to a hill near a dusty town, and if you don’t get the chance…travel half way round the world to see this astounding band, it will be absolutely worth it.
Pasta Primavera USA
I'll admit I'm not hip to the Australian scene as much as I'd like. That's clearly evident in the fact that I'm just catching up on The Panics, who have just released 'Cruel Guards" in the US. This modest 10 track album is full of elaborate tales that seem to stretch my ears to the horizon. They remind me of fellow Australian band The Church but with more joy around the edges (almost a hint of the little ones there). 'Cruel Guards" is out now and I strongly recommend it.
Maximum Ink Magazine USA
Throaty vocals cushioned in strings and brass cast stoic shadows across jangly refrains as the solid, soulful Aussie rock of "Cruel Guards" croons cool, stone faced fables. Shifting slave chain beats between rousing hooks. The Panics valient hearts are well prepared for soldering on, delivering swelling, resilient emotions exploding into proud pleads and open armed anthems. John Noyd Maximum Ink USA
Indie Rock Reviews USA
The Panics have produced an album that can only be described as beautiful. Opening vocals rang strangely familiar with something that I can only pin on Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen. Another strange familiarity that kept coming to mind was that of similarities of Jpanese Enka musicparticularly on Gert us home, Ruins and Creaks.Rarely have I heard an album that manages to keep its flowing tone without the occasional break down or build up that give s your ears reason to strain. To sum it up if your looking for unique vocals sung to piano, strings, horns and harmonica beautifully interwined it may be in your best interest to give The Panics Cruel Guards a listen.
Fire Drills USA
There is a reason "Cruel Guards" from Australian group The Panics earned an ARIA award(equivalent of a Grammy) The record has a mid temp pace but comes across with a bundle of energy in each tune that includes handclaps, strings and introspective lyrics. Lead singer Jae Laffer delivers a somewhat husky and narrative vocal which keeps each tune front and centre while being backed by catchy harmonies that make "Cruel Guards" memorable and worth checking out.
Atlanta Music Guide
The Panics leave little doubt that this is not another lo fi cd that their fans have come to expect. On "Cruel Guards" the quintet have gone for broke. In an effort to expand ...they have abandoned their sparce sound for a more lush, orchestral one. It works. Think the Verve. The music swells and the sounds of organs and pianos wash over you, like a wave of honey."Cruel Guards" is an enchanting blend of 70s & 80s Alt-Rock(The Church funnelled thru the twisted mind of Robin Hitchcock) "Cruel Guards" has a melancholic feel to it. But not all is dour and one dimensional. "Dont fight it" is perfectly pleasing pop complete with horns while the title track gets back to the bands stripped down sound. But it's "Sundowner" that is the most intriguing. About a man on the brink who refuses to give up. This cd should make a name for The Panics in the US. Alf Kaufman Atlanta Music Guide USA
BC Blogcritics Magazine USA
This new (to the USA) group is not the next big splash. The Panics are more like a small tsunami, caused by an undersea earthquake. A small ripple in the vastness of the ocean, but that ripple packs enough wallop to put you on your ass and make you do some serious dirt surfing! They're not acting like spoilt teenagers, or sexually confused, or wannabe gangstas whose histrionics populate the charts these days. They're just about plain ole good music. Correction: Make that plain ole Great music. As another reviewer put it "...Interweaving melodies and atmospheres over landscapes of rousing instrumentation". "Cruel Guards" begins with a drum roll, some handclapping, and then an elgiac cum triumphantly subdued flourish that seems to set the proper pace for this disc."Don't fight" starts off as if from a sunday hymnal, but quickly moves into a sophisticated , slow shuffle that exudes supreme confidence and subdued pride in equal measure. The band is fearless in its approach to making of music, unafraId to add strings, horns and a piano where they're called for ...The writing demonstrates sincere, well crafted poetry, seemlessly welded to well-crafted musicianship. Don't Miss this group when they make their US tour. Lou Novacheck- BC Blogcritics Magazine USA
SKOPE USA
It has been a while since a new pop-rock band from Australia has made a major impact in the USA. It's hard to name a band from down under that has embraced pop melodies and orchestral flourishes successfully and crossed into the consciousness of American music fans. Well that might change as the Panics have just released an impressive cd called "Cruel Guards" in the States. "Cruel Guards" features ten beautifully crafted songs that are better than most anything being played on radio stations today. Things get off to a great start on the recording with the lush opening track "Get us Home". After a short drum roll fades in and lulls the listener in, a grand orchestral arrangement blares out and then subtly blends in with some understated electric and acoustic guitars and vocalist Jae Laffer's melodic singing. Later on, the ultra catchy "Don't fight it" surprises with an organ solo before a hip hop beat inspired drum loop fades and continues along with splashes of piano and horns. The title track is another stand out with its slower tempo, haunting strings and harmonica solo. Lyrically Cruel Guards impresses as Laffer's words are direct and universal. Any listener will be able to relate to "Ruins" and Live without", which deal with failed relationships in a reflective manner. The Panics have crafted some fantastic music here and any serious music fan will have no problem enjoying Cruel Guards. Todd Sikorski SKOPE USA
"Highly Recommended" - Ryans Smashing Life USA
I popped 'Cruel Guards' into my car stereo the other day and was immediately and completely won over. The Panics are an Australian indie band with tremendous authentic clean sound. Their song arrangement are thick layered affaris-reminding me of the sonic fairy tales of Belle and Sabastian. The Panics start their songs strong-epic vocal and piano introductions transport you away. By the time you get inside the song you're already tapping your foot and swaying in place. We predict very good things. Ryan's smashing Life USA
"What the critics are buzzing about this week is The Panics". Fort Worth Telegrath USA
One of the surprises coming out of South by South West in Austin was an unknown band originally from far flung Perth, Australia called The Panics. At a time of so much mind - fogging pop transience, The Panics (now based in Melbourne) delivered literate yet melodic rock that not only echoed the haunting classicism of such Aussie acts as The Triffids and The Go-Betweens but also the likes of Van Morrison. Finally The Panics strong album. "Cruel Guards", with epic tracks like Sundowner and the title track is available in the U.S and tour expected soon. Cary Darling Fort Worth Star Telegrath
"The Panics will soothe you" - Music under Fire USA
The Panics are unlike anything we've heard this year. They are ryhthmiclly in sync they've got the vocals and a tightly tuned guitar and an air that I just can't put my finger on. These guys are a bunch of Aussies you must check out. Music under Fire USA
Wired USA "Cruel Guards" review
These Australian's probably could have picked a better name as their music is far from the eqiuvalant of panic. Rather it's chilled pop that lands somewhere between Simon & Garfunkel and The Church. Which is to say very cool and creepy. Wired USA
USA Today "Cruel Guards" review
Gloriously seductive pop-rock from impressive new Australian band's excellent "Cruel Guards" album. Ken Barnes USA Today
Chewing gum for your ears USA "Cruel Guards" review
The Panics make their US debut with "Cruel Guards". These guys have been big in their native Australia for a while now, though I imagine you, like me have never heard a thing about them . Thei soulfull take on adult alternative rock should have no trouble finding a place in the American music scene. The Panics seem at once familiar and unique, always slightly restrained but never dull. The highlight of the album is the lead single "Don't fight it", a delicate anthem with a sticks in your head chorus and beautiful piano and horn arrangements. The production on "Cruel Guards" shine throughout, with eerie background vocals (something in the garden) and brilliant strings (Get us home & Ruins) among other tasteful flourishes. It's an album made by a band who understand how to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. "Cruel Guards" takes a couple of spins to fully appreciate. Thorougly enjoyable and interesting record and desevres our attention in the Sates. Chewing gum for Ears USA
"Cruel Guards" Album review - CMJ New York USA
It would have very easy to lump the Panics in with the rest of "The" bands of the early "00s" and the Aussie 5 piece seemed primed to stick with the low key rock sound of their last 2 efforts. But "Cruel Guards" sees the band take a huge leap forward adding lush pianos, strings and heartbreaking harmonicas.The Panics don't waste a moment of time introducing you to their new mature sound with the opening track of "Get us Home". The song kicks off with a heavy drum roll and perfectly timed handclaps before bursting into an orchestral display that fans of the band may not recognise. The first single "Don't fight" ebbs and flows with hooky trumpets , simple drum beats and The Panics knack for writing gut wrenching lyrics. Front man Jae Laffer combines his dylanesque voice with layers of guitars that blend together so seamlessly..... Tom Duffy CMJ USA
Splendour in the Grass Festival Review
Regarded as one of Australia's finest bands for a few years now, thankfully it appears everyone is beginning to catch on. Beautifully crafted rhythms and thoughtful lyrics are just the beginning of what this band have to offer. It's hard to believe that a tent packed with thousands of weary festival goers could offer a feeling of good hummoured intimacy, but The Panics create this very atmosphere, and then thank us for it. Lead vocalist Jae Laffer interacts with the crowd between anthems, his vocals are sincere and dipped in honey. Guitarist Drew Wootton is untouchable, the notes that flourish from his fingers are heady and potent. "Dont Fight It" prompts a euphoric reaction. Lighters are out and hands in the air, the tune passes by in a joyful blur folled by the soulful "Get us Home" and an epic "Sundowner". Julie Christie PerthNorg
Fasterlouder - Splendour in the Grass Festival
The Panics have been gaining some real momentum since releasing Cruel Guards and tonight's show reaps the benefits, with thousands packing out the Grant Mclennan stage. The boys return in kind, ripping thru fantastics versions of Creaks and Ruins, and theres no room for no room for any more punters to squeeze in at all. "Twin Sisters" is terrific and Whitley plays on the mesmerising "Cruel Guards". The Panics are adjusting to their new found famewith typical humble modesty. Jae Laffer's vocals are above reproach and Drew Wootton's guitar work is steller as always.
The crowd is screaming for their favourite song but the boys make them wait a little longer. They finally play "Dont Fight it" and it's a tribute to the strength of Australian music that there are more people singing along tonight than there were last night at Polyphonic spree. The Panics are going from strength to strength and tonight is no exception. FASTER LOUDER
The West Australian - The Capital " The Panics take on the World
The Final gig on a national sold out tour, highlighted by a run of sold out shows in their adopted home of Melbourne felt like a celebration of the recent success; the singles 'Dont fight it' & 'Feeling is gone' are radio & TV staples and 3rd album 'Cruel Guards' was effectively album of 2008. The Panics began their homecoming with the melancholic 'Something in the garden' before treating the packed venue to a couple of faves from the latest disc in 'Creaks' and Motown adoring 'Ruins'. The Morricone flavours came to the fore during a brief encore of 'Get us Home' and 'Fire on the Hill' off their sun kissed full length debut 'A house on a street in a town I'm from'. The latter instrumental saw the band kick up their heels-it was the final gig of a watershed tour after all-with Wootton dancing up a strorm and Jules Douglas revving up the crowd. From Perth to the World, The Panics are on an exponential rise. They are going to be huge. Simon Collins The West Australian
Xpress Magazine
Home grown heroes, The Panics, returned for a sold out show. Given their increasing popularity in Australia and overseas the locals may be feeling the need to catch them live before apprearances become infrequent. The have now developed a signature sound that is unmistakably their own and seem ready to take on the world. Guitarist Drew Wootton was quick to get into his blissed out , eyes closed head nodding routine which sees him become one with his telecaster and peel off notes flawlessly. The faithful were rewarded with half a dozen tracks from the lates album with some favourites like 'Cash' and 'Kid you're a dreamer'.. The real knock out punch was 'Dont Fight it', which has a gospel motown feel and inspired the crowd to sing along. Finishing the set with the chunky spagetti western riffs of 'Sundowner'. Repeated audience requests for 'Fire on the hill' had gone unanswered so an encore was never in doubt.What transpired was something unique when indeed the much loved opening riff of 'Fire' was heard. Halfway thru thru the track Wootton's guitar gave up , despite some frantic running around to find another he gave up and saw the song out with an entertaining jig, which was a highlight of the show. Simply Brilliant! Steve Groves Xpress
Drum Magazine
It's about 11.30 and The Panics are playing to a very very full Capaital and as they begin their last song of this impressive homecoming gig Drew Wootton's guitar stops doing what it should be doing. After scambling to bypass his peddle board, swapping guitars and whatever else he could think of before assuming the role of Bez, dancing like a madman and conducting a mass clap-along from the front of stage. The welcome The Panics received was again indicative of how successful last year's 'Cruel Guards' has been. Embracing it's success the setlist drew heavily from that album. But theres reason they're playing the whole of the album; it's the best a WA band has made in a long long time. Though stand out track 'Get us Home' would have been more than an adequate way to wrap it up, it ran perfectly into 'Fire on the Hill',which despite -or perhaps because of-its shambolic ending, will have lots of new fans hunting down the first record this week. And no one deserves it more. Michael Inglis Drum Media
Rolling Stone USA
The Kings of Leon’s Nathan Folowill came to check out MGMT’s extremely well-attended gig, but while the Brooklyn band were stretching out their psych-pop tunes in jammier directions he was raving about the Panics, an Aussie act he’d seen the day prior. “You know how normally when you hear a band you can list the bands that influenced them or that they ripped off straight away?” he asked. “We couldn’t do it for them, they sounded like nothing I’d heard before, really melodic, almost atmospheric.” Rolling Stone USA
Brag Magazine - Single of the Week Cruel Guards
This Perth band finally bled through to the mainstream, where they deserve to be. The Panics are a radio band and the move toward the middle has reinforced the strucvtural discipline and melodic invention that keeps you engaged. “Don’t fight it” drips with Motown and soul references; the BV’s are almost do-wop and the horns punch through with vigour. The lyric is rich and semi-abstract. There’s a clarity and scope here that’s the antithesis of the bedroom production on their first self titled eps. Having said that “Give me some good luck” was so lush and private. I’m almost left wanting for that Stone Roses on valium vibe. It doesn’t matter because The Panics are going for it and they’re just sophisticated enough to be a huge band. take Jae Laffer’s advise “Don’t Fight It”.
Brag Magazine - Album of the Week, Sydney Cruel Guards
I couldn’t find words to describe how surprised I was when I heard this album. The Panics deserve fame, accolades and worship.
They have played shows in support of The Happy Mondays and played live on the BBC. The Panics show such potential, that the not too distant future could see them become a chief musical export of Australia. It seems certain that with sweeping strings emotional melodies and a sense of space and grandeur Cruel Guards could well be the album to propel The Panics into mainstream international success.
Gallant and beautiful the album is a perfect delicate balance of 60s Beatles epic, spaghetti western and Motown while remaining decided contemporary and alternative.
Jae Laffer’s drawling thick vocals and endearing modest while remaining suitably ethereal; ensuring the distinctive sound of The Panics will be instantly recognisable. Every track on Cruel Guards is gorgeous and to pick out some tracks over others would be to be denying the brilliance of this album. That being said “Don’t fight it” blew me away with its organ filled Motown melancholia.
The Australian (Ian Shedden) Cruel Guards
It wouldn’t have been surprising to see Perth’s The Panics slip off the radar had they not come up with something fresh on their third album. Drinks all round then, since Cruel Guards is mightily pleasing to the ear while maintaining the basic understated guitar jangle and floating vocals of their two earlier albums and EPs. Two improvements are apparent. One is the production, by Scott Horsecroft, which concentrates on bringing out the poppier elements of the five piece band’s sounds. The other feature is a more commanding presence vocally and lyrically from frontman Jae Laffer. There are echoes of Dave McComb and the Church in Laffer’s Australiana and nasal whine, but more importantly he’s more of a presence, a focal point, here than before. There are several fantastic sings. The opening Get us Home, for example is a glorious merging of 60s pop strings and harmonies set against the Australian landscape, while the poppy mood is offset by the more melancholy title track and the closing Sundowner. Best of the lot, though, is Don’t Fight It, a horn driven pop classic that will surely usher The Panics into the big time.
Drum Media - Sydney (Ross Clelland) Cruel Guards
In this immediate gratification era of music, to see The Panics build to the beauty of this seems somehow more natural and somewhat reassuring.
“Cruel Guards” is a rich and textured thing but even as the strings sometimes sweep in, the space and emptiness in it is never completely overwhelmed. This is a broader vision both musically and emotionally than their still engrossing previous album “Sleeps like a curse’. They admit the ambition of it; if not the shot at the big time, this is at least a shot.
From its at first tentative drum roll opening, which then gathers itself into the hopeful plea of “Get us Home”, they are coming at you from a dozen directions. One part Phil Spector 60s epic, some spaghetti western cross-currents and various combinations of guitar adding tones from alt. country to alt. pop all tumble out. And the instrumentation flows together seamlessly-it would be hard work to make it look so easy.
The same can be said of the perfectly titled single “Don’t fight it” – church organ overture to motown soul and brass as it unfolds; all built on a rolling old-tech rhythm loop. Or the exhausted relationship in “Ruins”, the tears falling into the sink you were never meant to find yourself chained to or counting the “Creaks” in the floorboards as you walk them alone.
However the distinctive sound that centres it all remains the enigmatic Jae Laffer, a voice of seemingly wiry tone that ranges across the album from Dylanesque drawl to something more ethereal. And then the drenched emotional numbness of the “Cruel Guards” themselves – anti depressants that have dulled some pain but take out some of the highs along with the lows. That this band can turn that darkness into truly affecting music, again suggests the confidence.
Along with the band, some thanks should go producers Scott Horsecroft who lets such distinctions flow but never quite fall into the dilettantism of one of his previous engagements, The Sleepy Jackson. Mixer Victor Van Gugt’s gives The Panics a link with names they’d respect, like Nick Cave, or fellow West Australians with a similar worldview, The Triffids.
Work your way into this glorious record and you will rightly consider it one of the year’s finest.
Sydney Morning Herald (Bernard Zuel) Cruel Guards
The Panics are very very good. The opening track, Get us Home, has a string preamble that recalls The Beatles’ All I’ve got to do, verses like old-home week in Tennessee and a chorus threatening to soar like a classic piece of sunny joy. After that, as with The Church at their 80’s peak, The Perth band effortlessly sail through vauguely psychedelic pop gems that are outwardly casual but are actually quite intense, carry occasional brass and plain-speaking piano and are always big on melodies. Excellent Stuff!
RAVE Magazine (Matt Thrower) Cruel Guards
For their third full-length album, The Panics continue to hone their craft as creators of sharply written, immaculately arranged melodies. An apparent immersion into Motown/Spector-styled pop informs some of the material here, with pianos and strings as prominent as guitars on the record. Frontman Jae Laffer delivers lyrics in which various stories and observations are drawn from a life growing up in Australia, though the swelling strings in Get Us Home, the shimmering guitar notes in Ruins and the infectious horn refrain in Don’t Fight It are grandiose and beautifully realised enough to touch the hearts of pop appreciators in any nation. For this listener, it actually took a couple of listens for the songs to sink in, but once the subtleties were absorbed, it was clear that this is some of the most graceful Australian rock this side of Augie March. The brooding, cavernous title track is more the ample evidence of that.
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN (Simon Collins) Cruel Guards
Opening with a theatrical drum roll, “Get us home” , the first track from The Panics third album, channels the essence of a spaghetti western soundtrack so well you half expect to hear a whip crack, while the other tracks especially “Feeling is gone” and “Live Without”, take their cues closer to home, specifically The Triffids and The Go-Betweens.
The later comparison is especially resonant because of front man Jae Laffer’s songwriting, which has evolved to deliver highly evocative vignettes of which messrs McComb, McLennan and Foster would be proud.
Another song bearing Ennio Morricone flourishes, “Something in the Garden” is almost gothic, while The Verve like pop gospel of first single “Don’t fight it” is the clearest display of the Perth bands fearlessness.
The Panics have pulled back some of their trade mark glistening layers to reveal the strongest elements of each song, whether they be a string melody or Laffer’s lyrics. Brimming with confidence and backed by the formidable label in Dew Process, The Panics could be the home grown success story of 2007. They certainly deserve to be.
FASTERLOUDER Cruel Guards
For every band that manages to successfully mature it’s sound over the course of a career, there’s at least two that take their sound in dire directions, and at least a dozen that just don’t change their sound at all, and fade into obscurity. Such a fate is not for The Panics, whose new album Cruel Guards sees them develop their unique brand of low-key rock into a bigger, more expansive sound, and signals their arrival as truly great Australian band.
The Panics don’t waste any time introducing their new sound either. Opening track Get Us Home begins with a staccato drum roll, before a giant orchestral sound crashes into place. Once the lyrics begin, the old Panics sound shines through, with acoustic and electric guitars complementing each other perfectly to create a shimmering Western vibe.
Don’t Fight It, the first single to be released from the album, is an absolute cracker, with a slow organ opening underpinning frontman Jay Laffer’s trademark vocals, before a piano and horns section gives the song weight and bombast. A brilliant singalong chorus about seizing the unknown means this is probably the Panics’ best ever shot at a hit single.
But even when they try something different, this still the same Panics who wowed critics and audiences with their first two albums, A House On A Street In A Town I’m From and Sleeps Like A Curse. Panics fans looking for a bit of the old sound will find it in Ruins, Creak, and Feeling Is Gone, with the interplay between the pianos, guitars and vocals creating layered songs with a depth that few other artists can match. Ruins is particular mesmerising, as a break-up song which will leave listeners supporting the break, rather than with any sense of pity for the protagonist.
Title track Cruel Guards slows the tempo a little, but some beautiful harmonisation and piano work make this a song that will stick in your head. Live Without ramps the energy back up again with a marching drum beat and handclaps alongside the excellent piano and guitar work. And album closer Sundowner uses a beautiful piano line and guitar lick to bolster Laffer’s vocals – this is probably the first time Laffer has given himself a cocky swagger, and it works beautifully.
It’s impossible to single out any one of the band members as making the biggest contribution to this album. All five musicians have contributed superb work to create an album that feels like a living document, a testament to a band which is continuing to grow and thrive. These songs are complex and layered without ever feeling pretentious, which is perhaps a testament to the simple, honest lyrics, which lovingly lay out tales of heartbreak and cherish with equal aplomb.
One thing is clear: the Panics didn’t to just release another Panics record. By taking their sound in a natural direction, rather than forcing change on themselves, they have created an album which has instant appeal, but will also grow on the listener with each subsequent listen. Cruel Guards is a stunning album which should find a place in any music listener’s collection, and is definitely a contender for album of the year.
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE (DANIEL FINDLEY) Cruel Guards
Opening with strings straight out of an Ennio Morricone score, “Cruel Guards” announces a change of pace for The Panics. The Five Piece have consistently delivered beautiful spare rock throughout their career, but with the lush pianos, strings and layered guitars of this their third full length album, they’ve beefed up their production without sounding overblown.
“Don’t fight it” is resplendent with hooky trumpets, while the harmonica laced title track see front man jae laffer affirm his place as a deft, poetic lyricist. Consistent throughout, “Cruel Guards” straddles the divide between pop and rock with arrangements that reflect the 12 months spent shaping the set.
During closer ‘Sundowner”, complete with swelling strings, Laffer lets us know he “spent six months looking for the rest of the rhyme”, a labour that has paid off in full.
The Panics have an impressive back catalogue well worth investigating, but for their best, most cohesive work, look no further than this record.
Richard Kingsmill (triple J Music Director & Presenter 2005) Sleeps Like A Curse
My absolute anthem of 2005! love every moment and I'm pretty confident that I know the whole album word for word.
Kirileigh Lynch (Library Spice, triple J's Assistant Music Director) Sleeps Like A Curse
Every time I listen to this album it makes me feel like I'm dreaming the most beautiful dreams while being wide awake.
Illegal Del (Today Today Producer Triple J ) Sleeps Like A Curse
This is the best Australian album of the year.
Craig Mathieson Craig Mathieson discovers how a siege mentality inspired the latest album of a growing Australian band.
JAE LAFFER, vocalist for Perth five-piece the Panics, is sitting in a Byron Bay park. It's his 24th birthday and nearby a local is lazily tapping out a rhythm on bongo drums.
The previous night his band played Coolangatta and in a few hours they will move on again, heading for Tamworth , but in the meantime he has a day off, the ocean's azure waves beckon and he even has enough money to cover the rent of a home he won't see for the next month.
"You just have to stop sometimes and go, 'This is a really good life'," Laffer says.
"I guess I would have been very happy as a kid if I knew that by the time I was 24 I'd have released a couple of albums and been on the radio and played some good gigs."
Situated in the vicinity of Grant McLennan's (Go-Betweens) urban vignettes and Augie March's hushed solemnity, the Panics are in the midst of a national tour to promote their second album, Sleeps Like a Curse .
Tinged with elements of burnished West Coast pop, the album has an assured, intimate tone, as if it came together without forethought or effort.
"I think we're getting closer and closer to something," Laffer says.
"We're entering a phase now where our best stuff is just around the corner - we could go anywhere from here. All our best records are ahead of us."
Sleeps Like a Curse is the record that distances Laffer from Perth , where he was raised in the hills just outside the city and shaped by the music of Tim Rogers from You Am I and the Polish expatriate community his mother was a part of.
Much of it was written during a six-week trip to Britain, where in between a London show supporting a reformed Happy Mondays and playing a music industry showcase in Manchester, the band holed up at a fortified rehearsal room in the northern city.
"People think you're exaggerating to sound rock'n'roll but the truth of the matter is that muggings are commonplace and that if you don't bolt the door of your room with some iron bars, people will come and take all your stuff," he says.
"We're just skinny boys from Perth but this intense existence made us lock ourselves in that room and just play music. It was good to do that."
Since then Laffer, along with some of his bandmates, has been living in North Melbourne , dealing with the winter chill and exploring the city's live music culture.
Already he's working on the Panics' third disc, intent on influencing the songs with new surroundings.
"All I know is that if you spend some time in one spot, you actually get the best perspective on it when you're somewhere else," Laffer says.
"I like to meet people and see new places, that's when ideas come to you about where you've already been."
Laffer is a level-headed dreamer. As a child he would spend hours contemplating the band posters on the wall of his bedroom and planning what to wear on tour.
As an adult he's retained a sense of that freedom to re-imagine himself even as the Panics have steadily become an independent success story, moving into larger venues and almost stealthily expanding their fan base.
He can discuss their financial astuteness and teeming schedule if required but he speaks of it more as a witness than an instigator. Ultimately, Laffer is concerned with something grander and enduring.
"The only thing that people will ultimately remember," he says, "is great records."
Hotpress Sydney SLEEPS LIKE A CURSE
This album opens with Disney inspired strings. Baring more than a passing resemblance to The Sleepy Jackson, this album proves that The Panics have stopped releasing merely “Great” albums and are now a world force.
Inpress Melbourne
Hi Fi Bar Melbourne gig review
I wasn’t prepared for the mightiness of this live performance. These boys and their songs do the live thing very, very well.
…The smile grew particularly through watching the very entertaining cartoon ness of guitarist Drew Wootton and I love the man who can play guitar and keys at damn near simultaneously bin Julian Douglas. “Twin sisters” was grand, as was “Sleeps like a curse”, “My best mistake”, “Minor A” and “Speak it”. I love the endearing awkwardness of bassist Paul Otway and the relentless look of concentration from Myles Wootton on drums. Jae laffer’s professionalism anchored the group, his voice, keys and guitar near fault less….the lads on stage seemed genuinely chuffed and slightly bemused at the large crowd who had yes come to see what they could do…The Panics are good, Very good.
Sydney Morning Herald
Sleeps Like A Curse
“The Panics whip up some gorgeous melodies”
While everyone else is either ploughing the crunching “new rock” or nervy “post punk”, The Panics return with their minds on calmer pursuits that don’t need inverted commas around them.
For The Panics, this means an album that comes with its own heat haze. “Sleeps Like A Curse” feels like early an evening in summer when can still feel the warmth coming off the ground as you lie on the couch on the veranda. Jae Laffer’s vocals have both a hint of huskiness and shot of drawl, coming across like gentle spin off of Machine Translations’ J Walker, The Go-Betweens Grant McLennen and The Church’s Steve Kilby.
Musically, that’s pretty much where The Panics fit in too; country and whispers of psychedelia laid over melodies you could pour from a jug.
“Twin Sisters” and “One Too Many Itches” are simply gorgeous. “Sleeps Like A Curse” and “Speak It” should accompany classic surf footage. “Minor A” shade the day with sadness.
Herald Sun Melbourne Sleeps Like A Curse
Perth band The Panics think Big. “Curse’s” opener “One too many itches” is a jaw dropper, starting like a bruised folk tune before becoming a dramatic psychedelic lullaby.
It’s a great introduction. Forget recycled riff rock The panics are more inspired by the Church-singer Jae Laffer has that mysterious twinge to his voice that Steve Kilby uses to great effect-and their hero Johnny Cash.
Aside from the heavy Cashisms, wide screen ballad “Someone somewhere somehow” is hauntingly beautiful, and harmony soaked 60s pop (“Its not a thing”) and epic ballads(“Keep an eye on me”) add to a mighty moody album.
Xpress Magazine Sleeps Like A Curse
Album number 2 for the Panics lives up to the impossible promise that has hung over their head for nearly their entire career. Each song on sleeps like a curse stands out as being strong enough to release as a single-a feat accomplished on very few albums. Not since Ian Brown first opted for his own now trademark whisper have subdued vocals sounded so powerful, and as if it were almost based on the same principle, the overall mellowness of sleeps like a curse is the source of its strength. The Panics have finally found what they were looking for all along, The bar has been raised impossibly high, nothing can touch this album. It is without exaggeration essential listening.
Drum Media Sydney Sleeps Like A Curse
There are some albums where you now from the opening notes that the band has got it right, that all elements to a band becoming something individual of quality have fallen into place, and the result is potentially something special.
The almost caroling bells that overture “One too many itches” conjure a bunch of ghosts of pop past and present-a hint of spector Christmas album and hint of Brian Wilson sweep before Jae Laffer’s oddly engaging and feeling vocals come in confessing of “a last card to play”, when truth is theres a quite a few aces up the sleeve as it all unfolds.
The title track then shuffles in, a night train from the west pulling into central with Laffers doubts coming echoing back in his voice ‘at age thirteen”. There is a slight country undertow through much of the album some Johnny Cash Americana and Dylan wordsmithing cutcross with some of those sweet classic 60s pop influences. “Its not a thing” overflows with Bryds ringing guitars, though the band themselves naecheck the Church as a reference. The aforementioned Beach Boys harmonise through many choruses and overall there’s a neat balancing of the epic and the intimate. “Like an unwelcome guest adds the local heat haze with imagery of sprinklers and hills hoists which bring comparisons for me with the Triffids distinctly Perth world view with a distance provided by the band seeing the country from a Manchester eyrie where the holed up first developing these songs.
Then there’s their stately piano driven near hymnals. “Minor A” is a slow drawing of breath. “Someone somewhere somehow” is a broken love letter and court summons at once. “The general calling adds an almost threatening guitar line to a rising clenched insecurity in the lyrics.
Overall it’s a supremely assured album from a band which has found its voice. Stunningly good, one of the years best.
Time Off Magazine Sleeps Like A Curse
Amazingly, this is the sixth release from Perth outfit The Panics in just two-and-a-half years. But despite their intense release schedule, they continue to produce work of a high standard.
Second album Sleeps Like A Curse sees the band spread their wings and follow a slightly different path. Previously rooted in northern English guitar atmospherics (The Verve, Stone Roses etc), The Panics have recently introduced slide guitar, finger-picking and folky phrasing to the fold.
The swirling guitars are still evident, but there’s more restraint applied now and, it appears, less focus on building grand soundscapes. Consequently, Jae Laffer’s lyrics are given more room to shine as his breathy vocals now blend less into the surrounding music.
The real treats arrive in ‘Like An Unwelcome Guest’, album opener ‘One Too Many Itches’ and moody ‘Keep An Eye On You’ with its ominous piano. Meanwhile, the hand-clapping ‘Twin Sisters’ is positively upbeat.
Sleeps Like A Curse is the album The Panics needed to make; they’ve proved they’re capable of straddling styles and pushing their own limits. But really, we never had any reason to doubt them…
The West Australian Sleeps Like A Curse
Two years from their debut album “A house on a street in a town I’m from” . Perth’s morose minstals return with their strongest batch of songs yet.
Last years seven track “Crack in the wall” signaled that The Panics were pushing away from Manchester sounds into more diverse territory, populated by the likes of Johnny Cash, The Bryds, The Go-Betweens and The Triffids.
Previous releases have taken time to grow on the listener. Four tracks from “sleeps like a curse” – specifically “My best mistake” “Twin sisters” “Speak it” and “It’s not a thing”- deliver such winning melodies that they immediately take up residence in your grey bungalow.
The rest soon follow, from the half spoken opener “One too many itches” to the foreboding “The general calling” (inspired by Cash’s The man conme around perhaps) and melancholy closer “Keep an eye on me”
Meloncholy is a word often associated with Laffer’s evocative lyrics and appropriate for much of “Sleeps like a curse’. However there’s plenty of sunshine on this at time blinding album.
For example the 60s poip celebration of summer loving “It’s not a thing” contains the fab line “we sit on beaches, drink like leaches/the only kiss I gets from the sun”.
Glistening layers of guitars and keyboards, sneaky rhythms and Laffers deadpan vocals embellished by strings and glockenspiel combine to make “sleeps like a curse” a great Perth album…wait nix that…a great Australian album.
Butterbox Media The Panics - @ Newtown.Sydney Friday 18 February 2005.
The Panics opened their set with the song Southern, taken from the mini album Crack in the Wall. Recorded in brief and spontaneous circumstances it’s one of those records that preclude discussions about relativity or conceptual art simply because it possesses symptoms of aggression, scruffiness and calculated cool without any of the strictly-for-display, glossy magazine play-acting regularly found on Special Needs TV shows. In the album’s seven songs glimpses of intricate illusion are found specific to romantic emotion.
Appearance-wise The Panics look and act as if they’d reject any script from the franchise-hungry money people on the grounds of optimism. There’s enough haughtiness in front man Jae Laffer’s outer shell to enhance his broad musical sweeps and the combination serves to annihilate mediocrity.
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