Formed in 2006, the Pack A.D. consists of singer/guitarist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller. The duo released four studio albums on Mint Records. When their contract with Mint expired, the duo signed with Nettwerk 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 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. On Sept 1, the band announced the first leg of yet another North American tour. Two weeks later, 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 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 garage rock, pop, punk and blues. In the past, reviewers have compared the duo to the White Stripes, the Kills and the Black Keys. 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 and rockabilly influences. Upon the release of their 2017 album, Dollhouse, the band's website bio describes their sound as a "fearless Franken-blend of heavy psychpop/garage-rock". Both members cite literature and film as huge inspiration for much of their songwriting, especially science fiction and horror genres. These inspirations are also present in their highly stylized music videos, which are often violent and visually striking homages to beloved sci-fi films.
The song "Haunt You" was featured in the films The Collection and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. The song "Everyone Looks Like Everyone" was featured in the debut episode of Crave's series Letterkenny. 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's hit series Riverdale, as well as Showtime's reboot of and The WB series Animal Kingdom. The song "Motorvate" was featured in the soundtrack of the video gameNASCAR Heat 3.
