Panchiko is a band that most internet music community denizens don’t need a reminder of. Love them or hate them, they have been incredibly important for internet culture. However, for those who are new to the English shoegaze band, let’s recount the story of how Panchiko became an internet staple 20 years in the making.
Panchiko allegedly recorded their debut EP, “D˃E˃A˃T˃H˃M˃E˃T˃A˃L,” in 2000 just as a group of four teenaged friends jamming out. They distributed the album only to friends and family not expecting it to take off.
16 years later, someone found a CD copy of the EP in a thrift store in Nottingham, England and posted about it on 4chan confused and entranced by the music. The CD had disc rot, which gave the EP an eerie, haunting feeling to it.
People thought that was the end of the band, short-lived but early practitioners of shoegaze.
However, one day a fan of the EP contacted one of the members of Panchiko on Facebook and the band got back together, amazed that people cared that much about that EP they made as teens. They posted the original versions of the EP with and without the disc rot and even expanded upon it with three other finished songs in 2020.
While 2023 “Failed at Math(s)” was lukewarm at best with only a few songs that weren’t dull — likely due to the possibility of it being rushed to capitalize on the hype the band had achieved — 2025’s “Gingko,” released April 4, is a more concerted effort that takes the band in a less obvious but soothing direction.
The album begins with “Florida.” The song, judging by the title and the lyrics, seems to be a commentary on the government of Florida and by proxy the United States, starting with book bans as depicted by the first verse with the pages. The song gets even more dystopian with the lyric “Pieces, pieces scattered on the floor, where I destroyed your armor, all for our orders,” which could possibly be about rights being taken away.
The lyrics are pretty vague. “Cool, cool the metal down, the spin, the ugly sound / This won’t be the last round” could be a reference to the saying that some people are cogs in a well-oiled machine, which is often a euphemism for governments or corporations. The chorus continues this anti-consumerist social critique with “Payload’s too great, why was it made?”
The title track, “Gingko” is named after a type of endangered East Asian tree and is nothing short of beautiful. From the piano to the singing by Owain Davies that sounds kind of like alternative rock band Radiohead’s Thom Yorke’s vocals, this is quite a soothing and memorable song. The drums enhance this atmosphere wonderfully. The lyrics seem to be about external stress affecting a relationship negatively especially with the first verse: “First I saw it halve in size, and vanish out of view, don’t know how big it was, don’t think that I want to.” This intangible entity could be patience or sanity.
“Shandy in the Graveyard” feels like something the genre-fluid rock band Gorillaz would do with their feature of Billy Woods as a guest rap verse. The song begins with this warped and foreboding synth-like sound that sounds like something experimental rap duo Armand Hammer would rap on in “Paraffin.” Owain’s part of the song is angelic with the instrumentation lightening up and drowning out the synth and the violins were a beautiful addition.
Woods’ verse is abstract as most of his poetry is. “The clasp was broken, but you know me, I tend to keep the pieces” is a standout line for the double entendre of “pieces” being both the pieces of broken jewelry and firearms. The last lines “I hear sticks sharpen in the dark, surrounded by the bones of those I slain” also stood out for how grim the scene is painted to be. In addition, there seems to be samples or sound effects that sound similar to the platformer game “Mega Man.” The vocal chopping of Woods’ verse at the end of the song was a great move.
“Honeycomb” is overly sweet, and I can’t decide whether that’s a good or bad thing. It’s different from Panchiko’s usual sound though, so there’s merit in that.
“Shelled and Cooked” tells the narrative of a character named Lucy who is affected by the passage of wasted time. Although the acoustic guitar is boring, Lucy saying “‘We’d rather close the shutters, roll the blinds than admit that we’re all running out of time’” is a strong lyric. The song picks up too late in the runtime, though. Not even an electric guitar solo could redeem this.
“Chapel of Salt” is the freshest song on the album. It’s bright and beautiful with lots of captivating musical moves to keep you entertained.
The drums to “Vinegar” sounds kind of like “Only” by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails at first but then the vocals and guitar sound like the old works of rock band Car Seat Headrest with its low fidelity.
“Subtitles” feels like a tribute to dream pop band Broadcast especially with how Owain’s vocals feel like Trish Keenan’s of that band.
The finished version of “Formula,” first heard on the demo tape “Ferric Oxide,” is a great sonic homage to the history of the band with the warping simulating disc rot. The drum machine hi-hats were a great addition. Likewise, “Rise and Fall” is gloomy in the best way. It’s like a spiritual successor to “CUT.”
“Ginkgo” has some duds here and there, but also brilliance.
Rating: 3.5/5