Song of the Day: The Pack A.D. - Big Shot

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “Big Shot” by The Pack A.D. from the 2014 album Do Not Engage on Nettwerk Records.

The Pack A.D. - Big Shot (MP3)

Bigfoot dances with Yeti on a sand dune. Garage rock guitars stutter over bombastic drums. All the while, the sun beams down on this desert scene as The Pack A.D. declares, "You're a jerk, quite a piece of work. I think it's fun you're so dumb." Such is the setting during the music video for today's Song of the Day, "Big Shot." Visceral angst is juxtaposed with playfulness - a theme threading the 11-tracks from the Vancouver duo's fifth album, Do Not Engage.

Even as the Pack A.D. deliver "Big Shot's" muscular rock anthem declaring the end of accepting indignity, it's clear the band wants to have fun. Drummer Maya Miller joyfully attacks her drums as guitarist/vocalist Becky Black bashes her six strings. Ferocity meets pop hookiness. Where their past albums reveled in gritty blues-based rock, Do Not Engage expands with pop melody and stadium-ready choruses. That's not to say The Pack A.D. have softened. Far from it. The pummeling, tribal fervor their fans have enjoyed since the band starting touring non-stop in 2006 is still in abundance. Producer Jim Diamond (the White Stripes, the Dirtbombs, Electric Six, The Mooney Suzuki) expertly mixes the push and pull of unhinged power with infectious choruses into what Miller describes as "really loud, fun punk rock.”

The Pack A.D. are currently on tour in the U.S. with European dates starting in late April. Get tour info at their website, and keep up with the band on Facebook. In the meantime, check out the video for "Big Shot" below: