Panic Pocket, an indie pop duo rooted in the C-86 and Sarah Records lineage, applied their own biting sarcasm to brightly melodic hooks. Song titles such as "I've Earned My Right to Be Petty" signaled the tone on their Skep Wax debut, the 2023 album Mad Half Hour.
Natalie Healey on guitars and Sophie Peacock on keyboards and piano launched the project in London during 2017. Their tuneful, sharp-witted material, layered harmonies, and feminist critiques of poor conduct quickly resonated throughout the city’s D.I.Y. community. Reckless Yes Records issued the first EP, Never Gonna Happen, in April 2019.
U.K. indie pop legends Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, the Catenary Wires) soon signed the duo to Skep Wax Records, which put out the band’s hooky full-length debut, Mad Half Hour, in May 2023. Cut at Dean Street Studios in London with producer Keith TOTP, the record featured Healey and Peacock supported by Healey Becks on bass and backing vocals plus Laura Ankles on drums, guitars, and backing vocals.
