The Pack A.D.
Positive Thinking
Release Date: Aug 12, 2016
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Punk Blues
Record label: N/A
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Album Review: Positive Thinking by The Pack A.D.
Great, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Hailing from Vancouver, Becky Black and Maya Miller are the self-proclaimed, lifelong high school outcasts that make up the Pack A.D. From their debut album Tintype, the duo has been delivering raw, loud and energetic blues-rock that have drawn worthy comparisons to early Black Keys, the Runaways, and the Kills. Positive Thinking is the culmination of the band’s development since then.
Based on rating 8/10
Continually hard-working Canadian guitar-and-drums duo the Pack A.D. continue to distance themselves from their early blues-rock roots on their muscular, dark-hued sixth LP, Positive Thinking. Recorded in their hometown of Vancouver by longtime producer and collaborator Jesse Gander, this set is as noisy and powerful as anything in their catalog, with a strict punk ethos and some increasingly ferocious guitar work from singer/guitarist Becky Black.
Based on rating 8/10
The Pack A. D. 's sixth LP, Positive Thinking, will keep heads bobbing and bodies slamming despite both Maya Miller and Becky Black describing it as a much more personal album.
Based on rating B-
After two years away, The Pack A.D. (otherwise known as the powerhouse duo of Maya Miller and Becky Black) are back with Positive Thinking, fueled by a vengeance. Befitting that, their songs oppose the whimsy of the album’s cover art. Miller and Black have augmented the blues of their roots and traveled in a punk and garage direction, inching into more raw territory with each subsequent release.
Opinion: Fairly Good
With Limblifter, Rusty and Third Eye Blind reformations all on the go, it's clear that we're deep into the Canadian alt-rock part of the 90s revival. Vancouver's the Pack A.D. would be a complementary band on a bill with any of those acts, though their bluesy and stripped-down approach to rock 'n' roll sets them apart. The duo of singer/guitarist Becky Black, whose tough, smooth vocal delivery occasionally evokes Linda Perry, and drummer Maya Miller, unafraid of going hard on a crash cymbal, have been releasing albums at a good clip, and Positive Thinking is a dark and riveting addition to their six-album catalogue.
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