Faster and Louder: Pack Rat

Friday, July 12, 2024

Pack Rat - Life's A Trap

Pack Rat's first album, released in December of 2021, was the solo pandemic project of Patrick McEachnie (Chain Whip, Corner Boys, Hosehead Records). It was a stellar collection of snotty, frantic punk tunes with budget synthesizers. Like a lot of the pandemic projects that came out around that time, Pack Rat was way too promising to simply scrap once lockdown days were over. Not only did McEachnie keep this project going, but he turned it into a full-fledged band. Bella Bebe (vocals and guitar), Ripley McEachnie (bass and vocals), and Tony Dallas (drums and vocals) now round out the lineup. An EP called Bite My Tongue was released last summer, and it quickly sold out.

Out today on Drunken Sailor Records, Life's A Trap is Pack Rat's second LP and first as a proper band. And while the nervous speed and snotty vocal edge have been retained from that first LP, Pack Rat's sound has definitely evolved. Most notably, this album is influenced by the pop-leaning side of '70s punk and the classic punk sounds of the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver. I have to cite the description from the band bio because it's totally on the nose: "Like if a Canadian Johnny Rotten fronted Vancouver's very own Buzzcocks. If the Briefs and the Hives had a love child that looked just a little like Jay Reatard." Of course that sounds like something I'd be into, and just about anyone reading this will have similar feelings! Life's A Trap sounds genuinely like a modern punk album, yet it has those undeniable classic influences. It's full of bouncy punk tunes with nervous energy and killer hooks. From the hyper fun of "Heart Beat" to the power pop jolt of "Sleepless" to the garagey frenzy of "Ask a Punk" to the infectious blitzkrieg of "Two Makes One" to the new wavey goodness of "Rat Trap," this album features a tremendous variety of standout tracks. And from a vibe perspective, this is the perfect summertime punk record. When I first started this blog 13 years ago, this was exactly the kind of band I envisioned writing about. If you think you'd dig classic Vancouver-style punk with a contemporary freshness, you need to jump on this second album from Pack Rat. The vinyl is limited to 500 copies, so act fast!