The Pack A.D. (Canada)

The Pack a.d. is 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 ( Mint Records) made it clear that these were no city-girl dilettantes: both of them had something wild and wonderful running through their veins. Their new album We Kill Computers (Mint) makes their earlier releases sound tame by comparison. Unshackled from the swampy weight of the blues, Becky and Maya attack their tunes with the gleeful viciousness of coyotes descending on a carcass. Once again, they teamed up with the supremely talented Jesse Gander (Japandroids, Bison b.c.), and the two women worked diligently to capture the sweaty intensity of their live act. We kill computers is as raw and urgent as a Pack a.d. performance.