From Panic Attack to The Clack… this Invercargill band is back!

Lockdown brought out many hidden talents and passions, and for musicians Chris Tansley and Chris Chilton it was a chance to help write an entire new album.

Many will remember the duo when they were part of the band London Polyplop and later Panic Attack in the 1980s and early 90s.

“Once that band finished we never really stopped collaborating on writing songs,” Chilton said.

He credits Tansley, who now lives in Christchurch, as the driving force behind the music – “he’s the songwriting machine. He sends me the tunes and I write the lyrics if he hasn’t already done it.”

Initially in lockdown they started with one song Tomorrow, and a month later they had released a whole album worth of songs, called Interface

DiscOh! was also released as a single and Chilton made a video to go with it, along with another for Tomorrow.

Naming their duo EARWERM (yes after that tune you can’t get out of your head), they’ve been doing this for a while – in 2012 they also put out a digital DIY album on Bandcamp.

“I really have no idea how many hours it would have taken to write, record, mix, remix, discuss and remix again until we were happy with each song,” Chilton said.

Panic Attack actually reformed last year after 28 years and have renamed themselves The Clack see their Facebook page and watch more from the EARWERM album on their YouTube channel

Hopefully we might see them on the stage again soon.

“We’re both quite passionate musos with a tendency towards melodic alternative pop and hard rock, I would say, and no ambitions of changing the world,’’ Chilton said.

“Just getting some songs out there and having a good time doing it.”