Gingko by Panchiko | Album Review

The sophomore album from the storied indie rock quartet try to forge their own path, wear their influences on their sleeves.

You might not have heard of British indie rock band Panchiko, but they have the most delightfully strange creation story I’ve heard in a long time.

Panchiko formed in Nottingham, England in the late 90s, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Owain Davies, guitarist/keyboardist Andy Wright, bassist Shaun Ferreday, and a drummer named John. All high school students at the time, the quartet took their music more seriously than most teenagers, crafting an EP in 2000 called D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L.

Approximately 30 copies were produced and distributed to friends, family, and record labels, hoping for a lucky bite. Though the owner of Fierce Panda Records did make notes about the EP, Panchiko would go unsigned, and its members went their separate ways post-graduation.

Panchiko remained only a memory until 2016 when one copy of D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L appeared in a Sherwood secondhand store. Perplexed by this mystery EP, labeled only with the band members’ first names and corrupted by disc rot, the purchaser took to 4chan, looking for more information. The lack of detail made finding its creator challenging and the mystery surrounding the EP all the more intriguing. Consequently, Panchiko developed an online fanbase over the next four years while the band’s former members lived blissfully unaware of their growing profile.

That is, until January 2020, when one of these 4chan fans found frontman Owain Davies on Facebook and asked if he knew about Panchiko. A flurry of phone calls to his old high school buddies ensued, leading to the miraculous reformation of Panchiko, minus their original drummer John, who joined the military after high school and failed to maintain contact with his former bandmates. All this culminated in the self-publishing of Panchiko’s first new music since their high school days, 2023’s Failed At Math(s).

Against all odds, Davies, Wright, and Ferreday achieved the record deal they aspired to as teens, signing in 2024 with Nettwork Music Group, providing them the resources to create their second album Ginkgo. While Failed At Math(s) tried to combine the sounds of post-punk with a lo-fi edge, Gingko leans into a Radiohead-esque sound, fusing alt-rock riffs with glitched-out electronics and Davies’ expressively languid vocals.

Perhaps the best example of this is “Chapel Of Salt,” which sounds like a tribute to The Bends-era Radiohead, with heavy, fuzzed out guitars backing big, bold group vocals. The lyrics feel straight out of the cryptic OK Computer era, laden with oblique references to revolution and oppressive power structures:

And we're sold for our salt

Get your hands from my throat

And we're made from pre-owned

Rip the wires, crash the core.

Opening track “Florida” also evokes the boys from Abingdon, this time the In Rainbows era, with melancholy guitars melding organically with electronic effects. Davies sounds particularly like Thom Yorke here, and his lyrics even evoke a bit of Yorke’s existential flavor:

Aim your frame to the sky

Payload's too great

Why was it madе?

That said, Panchiko also works to create their own unique sound on certain tracks, most notably “Shandy In The Graveyard,” featuring rapper Billy Woods. This song beautifully balances a light dreampop aesthetic in the verses with Woods’ melancholy verses backed by a moody, chopped-and-screwed beat. It’s a strange combination, but once that grows into more than the sum of its parts.

“Honeycomb” also breaches new territory for the band, a bright and vibrant lo-fi indie rocker laden with glittering synth effects, like a swarm of lightning bugs fluttering overhead. I also adore the chorus, one of their catchiest melodies, paired with some wonderfully evocative lyrics about being cared for by a partner (and maybe codependency):

And your calf is sold and your honey crushed

You werе up all night

I'm a nectarine on an orange tree

But you tend to me

I was up all night.

My only gripes with this album come on the production side. At times, the mixes are muddy and distorted, likely on purpose. When they aren’t, they can come across like musical wallpaper, something in the background for Davies to sing over.

While certainly far from a perfect record, Gingko is proof Panchiko is not just a gimmick, or riding their unique story for notoriety. They want to grow and evolve as musical artists, and I’m thrilled they got the support to finally do what they always wanted to. Better late than never.

Production: 6/10

Lyrics: 7/10

Songwriting: 7/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Favorites: Shandy In The Graveyard, Honeycomb, Chapel Of Salt

****************************************************************************

Thank you for reading! What did you think of this album? Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and recommendations.