Emotionalpunk.com
Media Review
Music Quality: 7.5
Production: 7.0
Originality: 7.0
Tracklisting
2. Don't Have To Like You
3. Making Gestures
4. Shiny Things
5. Oh Be Joyful
6. Underground
7. June
8. Dannemora Blues
9. Build
10. Wolves and Werewolves
11. Worried
The Pack A.D. is Canada’s answer to The Black Keys with one major difference: the members are female. Led by singer/guitarist Becky Black and backed up by Maya Miller on percussions, this duo are not to be taken lightly because of their gender. They hit just as hard and strum just as loud as the boys on their sophomore album Funeral Mixtape.
The album starts out with snares and a scratchy guitar riff letting you know right away what to expect. The vocals make their entrance as Black asks the question “Are you with me? I can’t see you.” Black’s vocals have the coarse groan of Janis Joplin but her lyrics are not given center-stage on this record; you’re given just enough to set the scene of a dark alley and then sent on your own. “Don’t Have To Like You” starts out with a tamed guitar riff that carries the verses but gets rip-roaring in the chorus. The simple lyrics and riffs may throw some people off but it simply harkens back to the straightforward building blocks of blues set out by Muddy Waters and the other Southern bluesmen.
The record shows its versatility and shifts down a couple gears near the middle. “June” could almost be called a ballad if it weren’t for the slow chugging riff that keeps it on its feet. What the lyrics lack in clever wit it more than makes up for in honest groans about everyday frustrations which everyone can relate to. “Build” does just that and picks the tempo back up for “Wolves And Werewolves” which lyrically takes an almost sci-fi turn which is a nice wrench thrown in the mix. “Worried” crawls along but, as with most of the record, is carried on by Black’s rough vocals and Miller’s solid backbone drumming.
For someone who grew up listening to the blues and Janis Joplin, The Pack A.D. is like the best of my childhood rolled up into one. They don’t follow the trends of today but instead pursue the direction of the blues greats with timeless riffs, solid beats, and most importantly heart-felt lyrics; Becky Black wears her emotions on her sleeve letting them all out for the world to hear. You won’t find long witty titles or references to Myspace here, just good old fashioned rock n’ roll the way it was supposed to be played: loud, gruff and full of heart.