Pang Attack

Pang Attack, the electro-ish/shoegaze project of Montreal’s Alex Hackett released a solid EP last year around the time we wrote about his performance at NXNE ’11, but his latest Phantom Forest EP builds upon that one in a big way, with all kinds of new elements tossed (succesfully) into the mix – we are most impressed. - goldsoundzblog.com

Après s’être révélé en 2011 avec un magnifique premier EP, le brillamment intitulé Dreamer’s Drugs, Alexander Hackett, multi-intrumentiste derrière le projet Pang Attack est revenu en force cette année avec une autre galette maîtrisée. Sensibilité, shoegaze, ambiance feutrée, électro. On s’enfonce dans la folie, le rêve et le voyage. Magnifique, à écouter en continu, de même que pour le précédent EP, dont on se lasse jamais.
- scene1425.com

Montreal’s Pang Attack released the Phantom Forest EP in October, pretty excellent stuff. PWYW over at Bandcamp.
- silentshout.ca

Surprisingly enough, the album which was given the most spins on my iTunes this year was neither Radiohead, Patrick Watson, or even the Barr Brothers; it was Pang Attack’s debut EP, Dreamer’s Drug, which moved my world like none other and soon became my dearest comfort anytime I felt the blues. Alexander Hackett, solo artist behind the moniker, is now back with a second volume of his magnificently-crafted shoegaze project. The beautifully titled Phantom Forest will be dropping on Bandcamp October 8th and the first track "Summer Lightning" is one hunting and appeasing piece, with layers of instrumentals arranged in a subtle fuzziness, then carefully led by a low, soulful voice; the closing piece titled ‘’Northern Seas (for Vanessa) is a floaty, more cinematic piece, wonderful work of echoes and acoustic guitar for you to get lost in. Unique and of high-quality, these are real gifts from the higher grounds, think maybe The National meets Bon Iver slash TV On The Radio, but yet, the comparison might not even be enough, just to tell you.

You can stream and download Pang Attack's previous EP Dreamer's Drug right below. Also, ''Summer Lightning'' and ''Northern Seas (for Vanessa)'' have been made available for download by clicking on the links. Enjoy your daydream. - indecentexposure.com

Dreamer's Drug, the debut EP from Pang Attack, is kind of a hit-and-miss proposition. It's only six tracks and twenty minutes in length, but you'll still occasionally find yourself feeling like the album is dragging. Opener "Sea of Fire" drifts along forever without any point, while both "Horses" and "Land of Fake Tans" seem to cast around looking for a melody for far longer than they should.

That said, even with those flaws, Dreamer's Drug's high points are so good that they not only negate the valleys, they make the EP a must-hear. "Python (Bad Dream)" carries on the tradition of exceptional fuzz-pop that Pang Attack main man Alex Hackett started with his previous band, Kill The Lights, while "Farewells By The Pier" is understatedly beautiful. And even some of those misses end up in pretty good spots; in particular, "Land of Fake Tans" winds up sounding absolutely epic.

Which, really, is a pretty good way to describe Dreamer's Drug, too: it may take awhile to get going, but once it does, look out.
- i(heart)music

In his debut EP Dreamer’s Drug, former frontman of the Montreal band Kill The Lights, Alex Hackett, creates an ambitious and fulfilling creative project.

Going under the moniker Pang Attack, Hackett’s EP is primarily a DIY project but has anything but a one man sound. Through the EP’s six songs, Hackett plays all of the instruments and creates every sound. I say, “sound” specifically as each track incorporates carefully selected and arranged noises - Grayowl Point

This local one-man-act (two on stage) is the latest endeavour by Alex Hackett, formerly of Kill the Lights. He returns with leaner guitars, levitating lead and back-up vocals, fat and fuzzy bass, drums, percussion and hints of e-beats, pretty bells and robotic keys backing thoughtful lyrics streaked with darkness and light. Straddling the pasture and the city block, yearning reverie and stark reality, this is a lovely solo debut. - Montreal Mirror

Alex Hackett, the ex-frontman of Kill the Lights (the Toronto-formed, Montreal-based shoegaze band that broke up in 2010), lulls music lovers on the aptly titled Dreamer’s Drug, the first EP of his new project Pang Attack. While knowledge of his previous band isn’t essential to appreciate his latest, Kill the Lights nostalgics should appreciate this new work of art. Hackett’s return is mellower, uncased and especially interesting. Dreamer’s Drug is a collection of luxuriant, grimy, post-rock-inspired songs that should, at least, please fans of Bon Iver’s eponymous album. Hackett’s voice is especially, surprisingly warm and soulful on this six-song EP, arousing comparisons to TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe on Sea of Fire, Interpol’s Paul Banks on Horses and even The National’s Matt Berninger on Land of Fake Tans. While Dreamer’s Drug is a great introduction to Pang Attack, the lack of "hits" could numb some listeners. - Hour Community (Montreal)

I first “discovered” band Pang Attack in January when Alex Hackett emailed me, explaining that a band I had talked about in December (Kill The Lights) was no longer, but he was working on this new project called Pang Attack. Well, he sent me the six-track EP “Dreamer’s Drug”a couple weeks ago (it officially dropped August 2nd), and I’ve been promising to get my thoughts out on it, so here goes.

The first track “Sea of Fire” is a profoundly eclectic track filled with reverb, seemingly paying homage to Sunny Day Real Estate and other bands of that ilk. I absolutely love the pseudo-feedback that fills the end of the track. The second track “Python (Bad Dream)” is full of all sorts of low-end bass and a drum track that intertwines perfectly, bringing images to mind like those of Disney’s Fantasia (except obviously backed by Pang Attack instead).

“Lazybones” finds some extraordinary examples of Hackett’s prose, as he sings “we dream of empty space / it weighs us down / the decibels have won”. It’s likely the slowest tempo of any song on the album, and Hackett’s addition of baffling, yet perfectly choreographed background noises further enhances the magick.

The fourth track “Horses” was streamed here on NMM back in February. It feels like the heaviest production work was done on it, and the result is the most elegant and beautiful cascading sound on the EP, with more insightful lyrics such as “some kind of fierce hallucinations so it seemed / death won’t be your end / you’ll be a hologram inside some poor kid’s head”.

“Fake Tans” finds Alex waxing poetically about angst, agony, and antipathy; the final song “Farewells By the Pier” feels like Alex is saying goodbye to summer; or perhaps something even more deep that I’m just not getting. Regardless, both of the songs are somber, almost tear-jerking, and leave you wanting more but unsure you could take anymore immediately.

Alex has clearly outdone himself once again. He’s a terribly underrated songwriter, versatile yet poignant, with an ability to assemble words into quotes even Wordsworth would be impressed by. Add in the fact that the tracks flow together in a perfect harmonic journey, and this is quite possibly the best EP I have listened to all year. I was expecting some impressive music given Hackett’s past efforts, but … wow. Let’s hope Pang Attack gets the chance to throw down a full-length sooner rather than later. - newmusicmichael.com