The Pack A.D.
Do Not Engage
Release Date: Jan 28, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Punk Blues
Record label: Nettwerk
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Album Review: Do Not Engage by The Pack A.D.
Very Good, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Over the course of their first three albums, Vancouver power duo the Pack A.D. put increasingly less emphasis on their blues influences and more on their rock & roll swagger, and now that they're up to album number five, they've evolved into a stripped-down but muscular rock & roll machine, but they've also added just a dash of pop hookiness to their formula. Make no mistake, 2014's Do Not Engage is full-on rock & roll and clearly proud of it -- Becky Black lays out big clouds of fuzzy six-string goodness and can conjure guitar and bass sounds at once with the élan of Scott Lucas himself, while drummer Maya Miller attacks her kit with the gleeful ferocity and relentless accuracy of a true master.
Based on rating 8/10
Vancouver duo Maya Miller and Becky Black are seemingly poised for global domination after taking their Pack a.d. project from indie darling Mint Records to international conglomerate Nettwerk. Continuing their move away from the raw sound of their first couple of albums, their fifth studio effort contains less blatant garage fuzz and blues worship, usurped by a keener ear for melody and chorus.
Based on rating 7/10
The Pack AD are a Vancouver two-piece garage rock outfit (think White Stripes, Black Keys, etc) comprised of singer-guitarist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller. Since 2008’s debut Tintype, the pair have been unleashing no-holds-barred albums featuring plenty of riffage and pounding rhythms, coupled with Black’s strong-yet-vulnerable vocals. 2011’s Unpersons was regarded by many fans as a career highlight.
Based on rating 3/5
Canadian garage-rock duo The Pack A. D must have named their fifth studio effort in the same vein as a ‘Wet paint! Do not touch!’ sign, because within just two tracks of ‘Do Not Engage’, the pair from Vancouver have you completely arrested – and there’s no right to remain silent. Becky Black and Maya Miller return with their trademark, venomous breed of no-nonsense, blues-tinged punk, but this time they’ve found more merit in melody.
Opinion: Mediocre
If Green Day can transition from irreverent rockers to respectable Broadway-busking megastars, then The Pack A.D. could be looking at superstardom in their future as well. After all, they boast the same adrenalin-infused sound, a combination of melody and mayhem that thumbs its nose at civility and sensibility as they attempt to make their presence known.
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