Ever wonder what it would sound like if The Kills got together with The Black Keys and did one enormous, bluesy rave-up? Probably not (who, other than the biggest music geeks, ever thinks about stuff like that?), but such a question might get more valid consideration if you listen to The Pack a.d.'s third album, We Kill Computers. Stomping out of the gate with a renewed sense of frustration and a petulant desire to get even with everything, We Kill Computers takes the scruffy, groovy hate-fucking dirty shirt blooz rawk that the band has been chipping away at since forming in 2006 to phenomenal and potent new levels. Sounds cool right? It is – but, really, the game hasn't changed here for the band, they've simply gotten better at it and it shows in every goddamned micro-tone that appears in We Kill Computers' thirteen tracks; singer/guitarist Betty Black has never sounded so confrontational, and Maya Miller has never molested her drum kit like she meant it so much before. The band just goes for broke here like they've got nothing to lose.
They get started at it from note one too; that aforementioned petulance stands up right at front and center as “Deer” torpedoes forth, representing all that has been best about this band for the last four years. Right away, Black's guitar rocks out like a very hung over Keith Richards while she spits and hisses lines like, “Let's have a chat” during the bridge of the song and Miller's drums don't so much tumble as be the set of punches that cause others to do so. It's the sort of blues-punk number that causes listeners to remember why they started listening to rock n' roll in the first place – it's pissed off, a little horny and just looking for a reason – and The Pack a.d. does it in such a way that makes listeners feel like they're invited to come along for the ride or fuck off. It's beautiful.
And what a beautiful ride it is. Immediately following “Deer,” Pack a.d. shifts gears into the far more groovy and melodic anthems “Everyone Looks Like Everyone” and “Crazy” which don't trade any of the sardonic and dismissive tones first set forth by “Deer” but do streamline them to make a far more effective impact; the blues and rock elements of the songs are no cleaner, but they're certainly wound tighter and seem to stand tall to tell audiences that this band doesn't care if they come, stay, lay or pray – the band is going to do what it wants no matter what. That's the sentiment summed up and sealed perfectly into “Math, The Stars.”
The Pack a.d. doesn't try to reach past those sentiments at any point on We Kill Computers but, really, doesn't need to either. In each of the album's thirteen tracks, the band finds more than enough indie blues-punk-rock thunder and lightning to both pound and wow listeners, and they only come back begging for more in turn. It's funny because there isn't eally anything special about it, but it becomes so infectious in performance (this album almost sounds like it was cut live off the floor and it's so virile – if you don't start to get an itch to dance or start a pit when you hear “Big Anvil,” “Cobra Matte” or “K Stomp,” I'll have to check your pulse) that it's impossible to turn away from and listeners will feel their adrenaline levels continually rise.
So what does such an effect and result mean for The Pack a.d.? Without meaning to sound trite, there is just enough power housed here to make a fan out of most anyone that hears the album; the hook is in the strength of the delivery. There's no doubt it will catch, and that means it will suddenly become very interesting to see what happens to The Pack a.d. next and where they choose to steer listeners.
Artist:
www.thepackafterdeath.com/
www.myspace.com/thepackad
Download:
The Pack a.d. – "Deer" – We Kill Computers
Album:
We Kill Computers is out now and available as a Canadian import from Mint Records. Buy it here on Amazon .
