Biography
Emerging in the wake of such guitar-and-drums outfits as the Black Keys and the White Stripes, the Pack A.D. fuse rock with electric blues yet emphasize a harder-rocking thrust generated by Becky Black’s elemental guitar crunch, her low and forceful vocal delivery, and Maya Miller’s direct percussive drive. Hailing from Canada’s thriving west-coast underground, the duo maximized their stripped-down format on the 2008 sophomore release Funeral Mixtape, then showed they could expand their sonic palette while retaining sharp concentration on 2014’s Do Not Engage. Their 2020 album It Was Fun While It Lasted offered a plainspoken reflection on life on the road and was presented as the final full-length project.
Drummer Maya Miller and vocalist-guitarist Becky Black, both raised in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside district, formed the Pack A.D. after Black—who had picked up guitar at age thirteen—connected with Miller, then employed in film work, through shared acquaintances. The pair began composing material and first performed publicly in 2006, quickly attracting local attention for the intensity of their concerts. Mint Records, a respected Canadian independent label, signed them in 2007, leading to the January release of the debut album Tintype; eight months afterward Funeral Mixtape appeared, prompting extensive touring behind both records.
Once back in Vancouver the musicians sequestered themselves at Hive Studios to experiment with fresh textures. Although blues remained central, they gravitated toward punk and garage rock, shifts that redirected the course of 2010’s We Kill Computers. Following 2011’s Unpersons the duo paused recording activity and negotiated a new contract with Nettwerk Productions.
Their initial Nettwerk project captured 2013 sessions at Hive Studios plus Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, with Jim Diamond handling final mixes. Do Not Engage reached stores in early 2014. A four-song EP, Meta Animal, surfaced in May 2015 and marked the last Nettwerk output.
In 2016 the Pack A.D. aligned with Cadence Music Group; after previewing the hard-rocking track “So What,” they unveiled their sixth studio album Positive Thinking that November. Just eleven months later Dollhouse arrived in October 2017, supported by dates across Canada and the American Midwest. April 2020 brought It Was Fun While It Lasted; accompanying promotional notes stated that the record would close the duo’s album catalog, though the musicians stressed they were not disbanding—only stepping away from lengthy tours.
Drummer Maya Miller and vocalist-guitarist Becky Black, both raised in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside district, formed the Pack A.D. after Black—who had picked up guitar at age thirteen—connected with Miller, then employed in film work, through shared acquaintances. The pair began composing material and first performed publicly in 2006, quickly attracting local attention for the intensity of their concerts. Mint Records, a respected Canadian independent label, signed them in 2007, leading to the January release of the debut album Tintype; eight months afterward Funeral Mixtape appeared, prompting extensive touring behind both records.
Once back in Vancouver the musicians sequestered themselves at Hive Studios to experiment with fresh textures. Although blues remained central, they gravitated toward punk and garage rock, shifts that redirected the course of 2010’s We Kill Computers. Following 2011’s Unpersons the duo paused recording activity and negotiated a new contract with Nettwerk Productions.
Their initial Nettwerk project captured 2013 sessions at Hive Studios plus Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, with Jim Diamond handling final mixes. Do Not Engage reached stores in early 2014. A four-song EP, Meta Animal, surfaced in May 2015 and marked the last Nettwerk output.
In 2016 the Pack A.D. aligned with Cadence Music Group; after previewing the hard-rocking track “So What,” they unveiled their sixth studio album Positive Thinking that November. Just eleven months later Dollhouse arrived in October 2017, supported by dates across Canada and the American Midwest. April 2020 brought It Was Fun While It Lasted; accompanying promotional notes stated that the record would close the duo’s album catalog, though the musicians stressed they were not disbanding—only stepping away from lengthy tours.
Albums
Shiny New Old Songs
2025
Tintype
2018
Tintype (Remastered)
2018
Meta Animal
2015
Do Not Engage
2014
Unpersons
2011
We Kill Computers
2010
we kill computers
2010
Funeral Mixtape
2008
Singles
