Cranked-up Vancouver twosome the Pack A.D. have been building up to an album announcement over the last little while, steered by the release of their "So What" single, and the big reveal has finally come. The band's first album for the Cadence Music is called Positive Thinking, and it hits stores August 12.
While the duo of Maya Miller and Becky Black issued the Meta Animal EP in 2015, Positive Thinking marks their first proper full-length release since 2014's Do Not Engage.
A press release notes that the album attempts to "connect all us damaged people together," with themes including "anger, alienation, humour, sarcasm, sincerity, loneliness, [and] grief." Miller has described the set as dealing with "the numbing day-to-day routine of depression" and how we mask it from others, calling the record's lyrics their most personal yet.
Speaking to Exclaim!, Miller had this to say about the album:
Becky starts off the album with her lyrics: No, not a winner this time. Play again, and again, and again, try. Maybe setting up some kind of desire to change, to be happy, to be better. I end the album with the lyrics: Lies I tell myself make me glad. Sometimes that's enough.
The easiest thing to do when you're depressed is to just turn your thinking around and say to yourself, "It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be. All I need to do is stay positive and everything will get better."
When life hands you lemons, hide in your basement and play online RPG's with strangers in other countries.
As for Black, she simply adds: "Positive Thinking is an album born of personal turmoil. But don't take it too seriously. Life's a gas."
Once again, the pair hit the studio with Vancouver producer Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung), with the 12-song set said to hit hard with the band's brand of "post-utopic-nihilist rock." Mixing it up, the record's "Anyway" apparently has a Nico vibe to it, while "Is It So" reportedly finds the Pack A.D. flirting with rockabilly.
You'll find Positive Thinking's tracklisting below, along with the info on their previously announced tour and the video for "So What." You can also pre-order the album here.
Positive Thinking:
1. So What
2. Yes, I Know
3. Teenage Crime
4. Anyway
5. Medium
6. Los Angeles
7. Sorrow
8. Error
9. Gold Eyes
10. Is It So
11. Skin Me
12. Fair Enough
Tour dates:
05/12 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt
05/13 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt
05/26 Nelson, BC - Spiritbar
05/27 Calgary, AB - The Gateway
05/28 Regina, SK - The Exchange
05/29 Winnipeg, MB - Good Will Social Club
05/31 Thunder Bay, ON - Crocks
06/02 Sudbury, ON - The Townehouse
06/03 Peterborough, ON - Red Dog
06/04 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
06/06 Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware
06/07 London, ON - Call The Office
06/08 Waterloo, ON - Starlight
06/10 Ottawa, ON - House of TARG
06/13 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
06/14 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
06/16 Saskatoon, SK - Bud's On Broadway
06/17 Red Deer, AB - Bo's Bar
06/18 Edmonton, AB - Brixx
06/21 Spokane, WA - The Bartlett
06/22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
06/23 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
While the duo of Maya Miller and Becky Black issued the Meta Animal EP in 2015, Positive Thinking marks their first proper full-length release since 2014's Do Not Engage.
A press release notes that the album attempts to "connect all us damaged people together," with themes including "anger, alienation, humour, sarcasm, sincerity, loneliness, [and] grief." Miller has described the set as dealing with "the numbing day-to-day routine of depression" and how we mask it from others, calling the record's lyrics their most personal yet.
Speaking to Exclaim!, Miller had this to say about the album:
Becky starts off the album with her lyrics: No, not a winner this time. Play again, and again, and again, try. Maybe setting up some kind of desire to change, to be happy, to be better. I end the album with the lyrics: Lies I tell myself make me glad. Sometimes that's enough.
The easiest thing to do when you're depressed is to just turn your thinking around and say to yourself, "It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be. All I need to do is stay positive and everything will get better."
When life hands you lemons, hide in your basement and play online RPG's with strangers in other countries.
As for Black, she simply adds: "Positive Thinking is an album born of personal turmoil. But don't take it too seriously. Life's a gas."
Once again, the pair hit the studio with Vancouver producer Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung), with the 12-song set said to hit hard with the band's brand of "post-utopic-nihilist rock." Mixing it up, the record's "Anyway" apparently has a Nico vibe to it, while "Is It So" reportedly finds the Pack A.D. flirting with rockabilly.
You'll find Positive Thinking's tracklisting below, along with the info on their previously announced tour and the video for "So What." You can also pre-order the album here.
Positive Thinking:
1. So What
2. Yes, I Know
3. Teenage Crime
4. Anyway
5. Medium
6. Los Angeles
7. Sorrow
8. Error
9. Gold Eyes
10. Is It So
11. Skin Me
12. Fair Enough
Tour dates:
05/12 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt
05/13 Vancouver, BC - The Cobalt
05/26 Nelson, BC - Spiritbar
05/27 Calgary, AB - The Gateway
05/28 Regina, SK - The Exchange
05/29 Winnipeg, MB - Good Will Social Club
05/31 Thunder Bay, ON - Crocks
06/02 Sudbury, ON - The Townehouse
06/03 Peterborough, ON - Red Dog
06/04 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
06/06 Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware
06/07 London, ON - Call The Office
06/08 Waterloo, ON - Starlight
06/10 Ottawa, ON - House of TARG
06/13 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
06/14 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
06/16 Saskatoon, SK - Bud's On Broadway
06/17 Red Deer, AB - Bo's Bar
06/18 Edmonton, AB - Brixx
06/21 Spokane, WA - The Bartlett
06/22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
06/23 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern