Don’t Panic

Despite seemingly being designed by a corporation to be mostly inoffensive, sometimes to the point of banality or worse, Coldplay launched into the world consciousness hot, with “Don’t Panic,” the song in the pole position on their debut album Parachutes. Though I personally feel more generosity towards Chris Martin and crew, some believe “Don’t Panic” is the band’s only good song.¹ Whatever the case, the track was certainly a winning way for Coldplay to announce their arrival on the scene.

Across the pond, the members of the Bloomington, IN band Hoops were listening. Though the band started when the members were juniors in high school, within a few years, they had established themselves as indie darlings, releasing their first LP on Fat Possum Records and reaching number 21 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. Their reworking of “Don’t Panic” strays from the original mostly in that they bring a trip-hop beat that ushers the song along a sprightly pace. Still, Hoops manages to retain the world-weary melancholy at the heart of the Coldplay version.

Unfortunately, Hoops dissolved just before the release of their album Halo in 2020 after allegations of sexual assault.