THE PACK A.D. - Tintype

By Simon Howell - The Listening Ear - 01/22/2008

Too many bands get the particulars right but offer little in the grand scheme of things. They dazzle you with colorful cover art, witty liner notes, slick production, or a clever name. So it was refreshing to discover B.C. duo The Pack A.D.'s Tintype, which eschews all of these superficialities to deliver a surprisingly multifaceted blend of blues-rock, undercut by a compelling moody streak and aided by its bare-bones production (courtesy of drummer Maya Miller). 

The remaining member of the group, vocalist/guitarist (and occasional pianist) Becky Black is a revelation -- while her riffs are more reminiscent of early White Stripes or The Black Lips, her vocal phrasings and blinding passion evoke a young Corin Tucker. The duo spends the first five tracks (there are seventeen in all, clocking in at a speedy forty-seven minutes) demonstrating their effectiveness at delivering fairly conventional blues-rock with ample energy, especially on raucous opener "Gold Rush." Brooding slow-burner "Pilot's Blues" relaxes the pace for a moment, paving the way for the first of three piano instrumentals. These interludes help greatly in aiding the album's feeling of emotional starkness, although they get slightly wearisome as they get longer, with the third lasting nearly three minutes.

Perhaps the best sign of greatness to come from this promising duo comes through on “Walk On" -- a simple, two-minute ballad you might miss on first listen. In its simple execution and graceful progression, one can hear the possibility of embellishing it on a greater budget, with a choir or some Memphis horns backing Black's reserved croon -- but this wouldn't make the song any better. Everything they'll ever need is right there on the track. Here's hoping they have the wisdom to preserve their bracing sense of economy in the future.

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