Dollhouse

Album review

It took less than a year for the Pack A.D. to record and release a follow-up to 2016's Positive Thinking, and 2017's Dollhouse is the sound of a lean, mean rock & roll machine that's learned how to deliver the big beat without a lot of fuss and nonsense. Dollhouse revels in the sharp dynamics between Becky Black's big, fuzzy guitar figures and Maya Miller's booming backbeat, and this album sounds minimal even by the standards of this power duo. While a few keyboard lines are audible deep in the mix, and Black has added some discreet guitar overdubs here and there, for the most part, Dollhouse is the sound of two people in a room who set up their gear and proceeded to wail. And, once again, the formula works just right for the Pack A.D.; this music is primal but satisfying, as Black makes thoughtful use of the space around her volleys of noise, and Miller's thunder has all the strength and precise focus you could ask for. One thing that has changed over the years with this duo is vocals -- Black's singing is more emotionally expressive than it was in the group's early days, and her control over her instrument has grown by leaps and bounds, whether she's bringing the house down on the title track or baring her soul on "I Tried." Add in the overdubbed harmonies and Black is every bit as compelling as a singer as she is a guitarist, and she clearly knows her way around a fretboard. At just under half-an-hour, Dollhouse doesn't play like a major statement from the Pack A.D., but it feels like a full portion of rock & roll action, and any group that can put out an album this solid less than a year after their previous LP is obviously doing something right.
© Mark Deming /TiVo