The Pack A.D. is a Canadian

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

group from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Known for their explosive live performances and the ability to generate a massive sound with only two members, the Pack A.D. plays garage rock with an eclectic variety of genre influences including pop, punk, psychedelic, polka new wave, and blues.

History

Formed in 2006, the Pack A.D. consists of singer/guitarist Becky Black, drummer Maya Miller. The group released four studio albums on

Mint Records Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker. Mint has put out over 150 releases, several of which have won Juno Awards. His ...

. When their contract with Mint expired, the group signed with

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

in April 2013. They released their fifth studio album, ''Do Not Engage'', on January 28, 2014. After touring extensively, they were signed to Cadence Music Group (a rebranding of

MapleMusic Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaight ...

) in 2015, which also saw them writing and recording material for a new album, ''Positive Thinking'', which was released August 12, 2016. On August 23 of the following year, while in the midst of a North American festival circuit, the band announced they would be releasing a new record, Dollhouse on October 13, 2017. On Sept 1, the band announced the first leg of yet another North American tour. Two weeks later, the band released an eponymous lead single for the record, Dollhouse, after teasing the single's release the day before via the band's

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page. In the early spring of 2018, the band embarked upon a European tour, then headed back to North America for a brief U.S. Spring tour. Currently, the band is slated for summer festival dates in Canada.

Style and influence

Musical styles include

, pop,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. In the past, reviewers have compared the group to

the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

The Arrogant Worms The Arrogant Worms are a Canadian musical comedy trio founded in 1991 that parodies many musical genres. They are well known for their humorous on-stage banter in addition to their music. The members since 1995 are Trevor Strong (vocals), Mike McC ...

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

the Kills The Kills are an English-American rock duo formed by American singer Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Records. Their first four albums, '' Keep On Your Mean Side'', '' No Wow'', ''Mid ...

and

the Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

. However, Black herself credits

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

, and her own grandfather as formative influences. The band slightly evolved away from their raw early sound with their third album, ''We Kill Computers'', and with their 2011 release, ''Unpersons''. Their next two offerings, 2014's ''Do Not Engage'' and 2016's ''Positive Thinking'', found them expanding their sound even further with

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and polkabilly influences. Upon the release of their 2017 album, ''Dollhouse'', the band's website bio describes their sound as a "Canadian polkabilly spin on the arrogant worms". The band cites

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

as huge inspiration for much of their songwriting, especially

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and horror genres. These inspirations are also present in their highly stylized music videos, which are often violent and visually striking homages to beloved sci-fi films.

Discography

Albums

* ''Tintype'' (2007) * ''Funeral Mixtape'' (2008) * ''We Kill Computers'' (2010) * ''Unpersons'' (2011) * ''Do Not Engage'' (2014) * ''Positive Thinking'' (2016) * ''Dollhouse'' (2017) * ''It Was Fun While It Lasted'' (2020)

EPs

* ''Some Sssongs'' (2013) * ''Meta Animal'' (2015)

In popular culture

The song "Haunt You" was featured in the films '' The Collection'' (2012) and ''

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse ''Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse'' is a 2015 American zombie comedy film directed by Christopher Landon and written by Landon, Carrie Evans, Emi Mochizuki and Lona Williams. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sar ...

'' (2015). The song "Everyone Looks Like Everyone" was featured in the debut episode of Crave's series ''

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

''. The song "1880" from ''We Kill Computers'' was featured in the film ''The Art of the Steal''. The song "Needles" was featured in the American television hit show '' Shameless''. The song "Yes, I Know" was featured on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

's hit series '' Riverdale'', as well as

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's reboot of '' The L Word: Generation Q'' and

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

series '' Animal Kingdom''. The duo performing their song “Pieces” are featured in the opening scene of

Arctic Air ''Arctic Air'' is a Canadian drama television series that began airing on CBC Television on January 10, 2012. The series was canceled on March 17, 2014, due to government budgetary cuts. Synopsis ''Arctic Air'' is about a Yellowknife-based m ...

episode “Old Wounds”. The song "Motorvate" was featured in the soundtrack of the video game '' NASCAR Heat 3''.

Singles

References

External links

* official website http://thepackad.com/
The Pack A.D. profile
at

CBC Music profile page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pack A.D., The 2006 establishments in British Columbia All-female punk bands Canadian garage rock groups Canadian musical duos Female musical duos Mint Records artists Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Vancouver Rock music duos Nettwerk Music Group artists