NEWS: The Pack A.D. (album recorded in Detroit), March 7 @ The Pike Room
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See them profiled on Last Call with Carson Daly:http://www.nbc.com/last-call-with-carson-daly/video/the-pack-ad/n42195
An open letter from Toronto Star Music Critic Ben Rayner:
Dear fellow music lover:
Not to be presumptuous, but youre about to have your ass blown off by the new Pack A.D. record. Blown clear off. Seriously. Goodbye, ass, youll say at the end of Do Not Engage, whilst mopping your brow and feeling about for an extra-puffy cushion upon which to collapse. It was worth it. I have no regrets.
Who am I? A fan of the music, foremost, from the moment the squalling dirt-blooze of the Packs debut Tintype first crossed my path. Due to a shared love of dirty punk rock, violent videogames and irresponsible alcohol consumption first recognized during an ill-fated trip to an Austin, Texas firearms range (long story), Ive since become a fan of guitarist/vocalist Black and Herculean drummer Miller as human beings, too. Weve become friends. And so I can say, with utmost sincerity, that Im totally fucking proud of what they've accomplished with Do Not Engage. Totally fucking proud of it. This really is a monster. This really is their moment. This really is the one.
Reunited with Detroit garage-rock maven Jim Diamond, a friend-turned-collaborator whod previously worked with the White Stripes and the Dirtbombs, The Pack A.D. has with Do Not Engage made its first proper, three-dimensional, expectation-defying album album. Lead single Battering Ram maintains a tether to the stormy alterna-Delta dystopia from whence the Pack first sprang, but the bands repertoire has here expanded to take in the churlishly infectious stoner-rock of Creeping Jenny, the bittersweet pseudo-shoegaze ache of Airborne and the post-Pixies retro-grunge fuzz of Big Shot, which sounds like Weezer being joyously molested back in the day by Babes in Toyland and Hole at the same time. Rocket, for its part, proffers a concise, picture of how far the Pack A.D.s self-imposed program of conscientious self-betterment has brought them: it announces Black and Millers arrival as nuanced, pop-savvy arrangers and masters of dark lyrical wit, and also Blacks maturity into a heart-tuggingly emotive singer.
Ive been privileged enough to have Do Not Engage in my possession for a couple of months now, so its been quite heartening to feel the same tingle of excitement for the Pack A.D. and what it has accomplished during the four or five times the record has cycled through in the background tonight while I struggled to batter this open letter into a form that does my sincere fanhood of the band justice. What else can I say? I love them. You dont know me, but trust me: Im not promiscuous with my affections. And if the record doesnt do it for you, go see the Pack live. If that doesnt make you a believer I dont know ring me up next time youre in Toronto and I owe you a drink. But privately Ill think you suck.
- Ben Rayner (Toronto Star)
The Pack A.D. 2014 tour dates: January 31 Seattle, WA Barboza February 1 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge February 5 San Francisco, CA Brick & Mortar Music Hall February 7 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite February 8 San Diego, CA The Loft at UCSD February 11 Austin, TX The Mohawk February 12 Dallas, TX Dans Silverleaf February 14 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court February 15 Boise, ID Neurolux February 16 Spokane, WA The Bartlett February 21 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre February 28 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room March 1 Calgary, AB The Republik March 2 Saskatoon, SK Amigos March 4 Winnipeg, MB Park Theatre March 5 St. Paul, MN Turf Club March 6 Chicago, IL The Empty Bottle March 7 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot March 8 Toronto, ON The Horseshoe Tavern |
