Last spring, PACKS released their debut LP Take The Cake via Fire Talk Records and Royal Mountain Records. An exciting introduction to a promising new songwriter in Madeline Link, the record was subject to immediate critical acclaim, with The FADER comparing their "reluctantly anthemic slacker rock" to Pavement and Speedy Ortiz, while further praise was heaped on the band from the likes of Stereogum, Exclaim, So Young, NPR, NYLON, BrooklynVegan, Gorilla vs Bear, Paste, NME, and Bandcamp, who called the LP "the sound of classic indie rock as delivered by a promising new voice."
Today, PACKS are sharing their first new music since the release of their debut album in the form of the new single "don't go for the goats milk", which arrives to announce a new stripped-down EP entitled WOAH that will be released on Fire Talk on July 8th.
LISTEN:
To "don't go for the goats milk" - HERE
Since the return of live shows PACKS have been touring extensively for the first time, going on long runs in the US with bands like Polyvinyl signees Good Morning, and like-minded Fire Talk label mates Wombo & Mamalarky. This new EP is composed of a collection of recordings Link made once she returned from the first of those runs.
"These songs began when I got back in November from our US tour with Wombo," she explains. "I had lost my voice completely and it had a nice scratchiness to it as it was coming back. Someone suggested I record a whole album of songs while my voice was like that. father’s truck was first. It came from a fever dream I had in a dander-steeped basement in Boston."
It's a collection of songs that communicates the casual charm of PACKS debut, while highlighting Links' remarkable sense of melody. She creates at a pace most songwriters would envy, but always finds the magic in the little details, both in terms of her subject matter and her songcraft.
"Sometimes I like to start my day with a little cup of cold goat’s milk," says Link. "This song began when my parents poured some of my goat’s milk into their morning coffee and wondered what that weird flavour was. Then of course it turned into a soggy, water-logged love song."