Long, long ago an iTunes suggestion led my teenage-self to an album. Becky Black and Maya Miller stand in front of a simple white backdrop looking edgy. I clicked play, eyes glazing over the name The Pack A.D. and the title We Kill Computers in the top right corner. The 30-second preview of Cobra Matte began, belting heart clenching drums through the speakers. Soon a guitar with an attitude follows along. Each instrument showcases a different personality melding into one grippingly-messy grunge world. 

They were perfect.

Years and two more albums later, Black and Miller take the stage at Lee’s palace and that similar rush arises. Dressed in head to toe black, Black picks up her guitar and scans the crowd, though not stopping to make eye contact with anyone. At stage right, Miller slams drums, dominating the entire room with the vibration. Black thrashes her guitar, walking around discontented from the moment, off in another world the music creates.

That throwback to teenage me makes nerves tingle beneath my skin as the familiarity past albums mix with new.Their instruments fight against one another, though it’s not a terrible grinding noise undeveloped punk bands have. The sounds meld together so perfectly it’s fair to say there’s punk and then there is the raw nature of The Pack A.D. The cohesion of each song played was the perfect set of old songs, each sounding vastly different from the last. They have a knack for making things that clash sound as if they were destined to be together.

Point being, years later, they’re still perfect.