Music with an attitude. Songs that snarl and sneer and occasionally leer. Tunes to drink (to excess) to. Guitar riffs that make you bang your head and play air guitar along. Pounding drums that make you want to punch something, anything, just to feel it. A lot of bands fit this persona, but not many can inject hearty doses of tuneful melodies without sacrificing some of that attitude, and The Pack A.D. have found a perfect recipe: mix 3 parts attitude, 2 parts melody, and a dash of wit in a highball, stir vigorously, then smash the glass against the wall and go out to the bar.

The Pack A.D. / Sirens
The Pack A.D. / Making Gestures
The Pack A.D. / Crazy

Since signing with Mint Records around 2007, The Pack A.D. have been chugging along and churning out consistently solid albums full of garage punk goodness. I first heard Funeral Mixtype a few years ago and was immediately drawn in by their bluesy garage sound. I’m a sucker for most anything with tons of explosive guitar riffs and drum fills that sounds like the perfect soundtrack for a gritty bar. I don’t know why, but it’s true, and this album had that style in spades. There was something special, though, that kept my interest growing. It’s not all-energy-all-the-time. Drummer Maya Miller and guitarist/vocalist Becky Black turn down to 6 or 7 every once in a while, building to a powerful moment. Case in point is “Making Gestures”: it starts with a tickly little blues lick, then the quiet drums kick in, then Becky starts talk/singing, then she hits some lovely high notes, then the she repeats a phrase, and then she’s yelling and then … BAM! Everything bursts wide open. Shortly, it all winds back down and the process repeats. It’s a simple idea, but the band employs it so well, over and over, that you have to take notice. You might also notice that Becky Black actually has an outstanding singing voice, and they showcase it now and again on some slow, bluesy jams, like “Worried”, or “Walk On” from their debut, Tintype
 
The Pack a.d. / “Crazy” / We Kill Computers [Mint] / dir. Jimi Cuell

 
The band has a new album, Unpersons, released back in September. Even from the first track, “Sirens”, you can tell that the band has been honing their sound over the years of touring and recording. They’re still making a lot of powerful noise with just two people, but the production quality is outstanding and there’s an overall polish to their grittiness that’s a big step up from previous albums. Furthermore, there’s a lyrical cohesion that seems to be totally new for them, and it’s a surprisingly welcome development. What does “unpersons” mean exactly? I’m not sure what their intent is, but with songs about spying ghosts (“Haunt You”) and friendliness, or lack thereof (“8″), and leaving behind a mess (“Seasick”), I can’t help but think there are many overarching ideas about relationships floating through this album, and “unpersons” is just a way to describe how the more we interact with people, the more we don’t feel like people anymore … Certain lines have haunted my thoughts lately—“I won’t be the one to clean up this mess when you’re gone / I’d rather be seasick than stuck in this shit / There’s no cure for idiocy”, is a particularly powerful one, as is “You take everything I love”—and that’s a sign, folks. This album will worm its way into your ears, via pounding percussion and powerful riffs, but the lyrics and vocals will keep you coming back for more, too. Stream some album cuts at the top of the post, and order it from Insound here. Be sure to check out their back catalog, too. It’s all good stuff.

---

The Pack A.D. on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Insound / Mint Records

Filed under: New to Us, New to You?