Panchiko have opened pre-orders for Chimera, due on April 9, 2027, and released One Car Hits Another with Mei Semones. The Nottingham band's new album has twelve tracks. Its Bandcamp page already makes the single available, while the rest of the album remains a pre-order.

Panchiko in a black-and-white band portrait
Panchiko. Photo: Lindsay Melbourne.

Semones has more than a passing guest spot in this sequence. She is credited on track two, One Car Hits Another, then returns on Glazing at number six and Zinc Spark at number seven. Hugh Pascall joins her on Glazing; Korea Girl shares the credit on Zinc Spark. Those two neighbouring songs make a useful place to return after hearing the single, once the full record is out.

A guest map for the new record

The opening Day One brings in billy woods and Cotillon. Clarion appears on Overwrite and returns later for Giorgia. The title track pairs Mirra Maze with Abby Sage, while Passing features Lula Nova. Runtime, Glas Lands, Swallowing Keys and the closing Trickle have no guest names in their displayed track titles.

Counting those entries gives eight tracks with named features and four without them. That is a map of the published credits, not a claim that the other songs were made without collaborators. The album credits also list production, mixing and mastering by Panchiko and CJ Mirra, with immersive audio by Mark Gittins. Rob Pointon made the artwork, with album artwork design by Max Taeuschel.

For listeners coming to Panchiko through older recordings, the catalogue needs a little sorting. The band's store places Chimera alongside Ginkgo, Failed At Math(s), live releases and archival demos. Seeing all those titles together can blur the difference between another edition of old material and a new album. Here the April release has its own twelve-song sequence and a newly available lead track; it is not being sold as an expanded copy of the early demo.

What the pre-order provides now

The digital listing includes one track immediately, with the complete album supplied on release. A pre-save on a streaming service is therefore a different action from listening to twelve finished tracks today. The single runs for three minutes and nine seconds on the store player; no full-album running time can be worked out from that one duration.

The band's limited Glas vinyl edition is listed as a pressing of 3,000, with shipping on or around April 9. A dispatch estimate is not an arrival promise, particularly for orders travelling overseas. The physical package also includes the digital pre-order, so the record's delivery date and access to the complete download need not be the same day.

With that distinction made, the single is a straightforward starting point. Follow Semones' three credits through the tracklist later, rather than assuming her appearance on today's release is the extent of the collaboration.