THE PACK A.D.
- WE KILL COMPUTERS -
In 2008, the world discovered the Pack a.d., an unassuming Vancouver duo who reintroduced listeners to a blistering assault of scuffed, scarred bluesy riffs, pounding drums and unholy howls : rock’n'roll as it was meant to be played.
Drummer Maya Miller and guitarist/vocalist Becky Black may have cut their teeth on the mean streets of East Vancouver, but their superb recordings Tintype and Funeral Mixtape (both released in 2008 on Mint Records) made it clear that these were no city-girl dilettantes: both of them had something wild and wonderful running through their veins.
In 2009, The Pack a.d. played a jaw-dropping 157 live shows. When they weren’t unleashing rock’n'roll fury, Maya and Becky were trapped in a van. They drove through raging wildfires, swerving to avoid throngs of fleeing animals. They drove through the Rocky Mountains and were left speechless by the breathtaking splendour of the trees and the towering rock formations.
As with most things in The Pack a.d. universe, the process was organic: within two weeks, Maya and Becky emerged with We Kill Computers (Mint), a ragged, thundering wallop of an album that makes their earlier releases sound tame by comparison. The two women worked diligently to capture the sweaty intensity of their live act in the studio. Once again, they teamed up with the supremely talented Jesse Gander (Japandroids, Bison b.c.).
Unshackled from the swampy weight of the blues, Becky and Maya attack their tunes with the gleeful viciousness of coyotes descending on a carcass. At its core, We Kill Computers is a glorious testament to the power of animal magnetism, bound up in some of the finest swaggering garage rock you’re likely to hear. It’s the sound of beer-soaked basement shows and deer hooves scuttling across the interstate. It’s the sound of two natural wonders released into their native habitat.
We Kill Computers is as raw and urgent as a The Pack a.d. performance.
