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 music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. They are known for mixing 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 and 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 an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

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) 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. 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 a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

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 Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

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 style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. In the past, reviewers have compared the group to

the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

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 have been Trevor Strong (vocals), Mike McCormi ...

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

the Kills The Kills are an English-American rock music, rock duo formed by American singer Alison Mosshart, Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie Hince, Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Recording Company, Domino Records. Their fi ...

, and

the Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

. However, Black herself credits

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

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 made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, 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 ...

, polka, and rockabilly 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 Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

as huge inspiration for much of their songwriting, especially

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

genres. These inspirations are also present in their highly stylized music videos, which are often violent with visually striking homages to classic 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, ...

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

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

''. 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 CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

'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 (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

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 mave ...

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

NASCAR Heat 3 ''NASCAR Heat 3'' is a racing video game simulating the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, 2018 NASCAR Cup Series and feeder competitions. It was developed by Monster Games and published by 704Games. It is the sequel to ''NASCAR Heat 2'', and ...

''.

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 Canadian all-female bands Female-fronted musical groups