Incoming; PMX “Dark Days” EP, September Vistors, Dundeemofest + More

Once again, apologies for the lack of WYAZ posts recently. Between work, running the label and everything else that I’ve got going on, I simply haven’t had much time to write. Miss it though I do, there are times when something has to give. I’ve been spending quite a lot of time working on new Tragical History Tour material for my forthcoming LP, which I’m hoping to release sometime during the first half of next year. If any other labels wanted to get on board with a co-release, do please hit me up! I’ve also been working away diligently in the background on the upcoming MTAT releases and Book Yer Ane Fest IX, which is pretty much fully booked now. We’ll have the “official” poster and full line-up to announce very shortly.

Our first order of business for September is the release of the long-awaited new “Dark Days” EP from reunited Perth punks PMX. The band’s last release was the incredible “Rise and Shine” album way back in 2004 and the first release of any sort since “The Ballad of Tony Montana”, a 25 minute progressive punk rock epic that many people may have missed. “Dark Days” is also the first release featuring the new line-up of Scott Henderson on lead guitar and Kev Henderson on drums. The EP was self-recorded/produced with the drums being tracked by Bruce Rintoul at 45-A-Side Recordings in Glasgow, before being mixed by the band in Perth. The EP was then mastered by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Rooms in Fort Collins, Colorado and it sounds absolutely incredible. To say that we are excited for this release is a considerable understatement.

There’s a lot of history in this record too; I first met Chic sometime in the late 90s when we’d spend our time moshing down the front at the all ages shows put on at the Lesser City Hall in Perth by the Youth Enquiry Service. I remember one time we smashed our heads together while Threshold Sicks were playing; it was the start of a beautiful friendship. PMT, as they were at the time, played the last ever Humus Kife show at the launch of the “Eye of the Storm” CD at Perth City Hall in August of 2000, when there were 10 bands set up individually, Jools Holland style, all around the City Hall. We then played loads of shows together when I was in 13 Broken Fingers (with Craig from Get It Together no less) while I was at university before eventually living together in the “flat of doom” above Domino’s in Perth some years later. I’ll never forgot walking down the line outside a sold-out Curly Lloyd’s handing out anti-war propaganda before the beginning of the Iraq War way back in 2003. I’ll also never forget some people looking at me like I had two heads while I did so. I remember manning the fort with bookings at Barcode/Angry Mic’s whilst PMX were away touring with Randy in Canada and I skipped out on going to Taste of Chaos with them as I had a show of my own somewhere that night (I’m pretty sure that’s right anyways!). Abbie and I lived in Matt’s house, Chic played drums in both Joey Terrifying (replacing Kev no less!) and Uniforms, we were the Asbo Brothers; the connections go on and on.

Needless to say, there is considerable personal emotional investment in this EP and there were times when we thought that it’d never happen. MTAT never work with artists without whom we have personal resonance and connections, with the release of this EP following perfectly in line with this tradition. To put one’s energies and resources into something with which one has no emotional connection, for the purposes of financial gain or some other motivation, is an exercise in futility, at least as far as I’m concerned. The EP itself is, to my mind, an absolute masterclass of modern melodic hardcore punk; taking everything that we loved about the “old” PMX and marrying it to a greater darkness and maturity that comes with age and experience. It also fucking rips.

The record is currently streaming in full at DyingScene.com and is available for digital and physical pre-order with an instant download of the track “Brave Face”. The EP is officially released tomorrow morning and will go live at 9am. The initial pressing of the CDEP is limited to 300 copies worldwide and all orders from MTAT come with stickers. All pre-orders will also have a link to the full release emailed first thing on Saturday morning.

Following the release of “Dark Days”, we have a couple of absolutely cracking shows coming up in the following week.

We are very excited to welcome back Scotland’s finest guitar-slinging angry young punk rock poet Billy Liar and Richmond, Virginia’s Joe McMahon of Fat Wreck Chords’ punks Smoke Or Fire back to Dundee as part of their ongoing UK/Ireland tour. Billy and Joe were last seen in Dundee back in April, although I’m looking forward to actually seeing this show as I was in Europe on tour with Get It Together when they played Cerberus Bar last time.

This show will see the Billy/Joe tour crossover for one night only with that of Kate’s Party. Kate’s Party are a “female fronted” (I’m no fan of writing that shit ‘cos, y’know, gender is over, if you want it) power-pop/punk rock band from Dublin, Ireland and I’m very pleased that we were able to make something work at pretty much the last minute. They’re a hard-grafting bunch who have put out releases on Dublin’s Toast Office Records and are one of the most acclaimed indie/punk bands to emerge from the Emerald Isle in recent years, so we’re very excited to be able to host them in Dundee.

These touring parties shall be ably supported by Dundee’s finest indie/emo-punks (not sure they like being referred to as such) Robot Doctors, who shall be stripping things back and performing acoustically for us, and Edinburgh’s finest history-teaching soulful acoustic punk rock balladeer Paper Rifles, who just dropped the 3-track “Songs For Ophelia” single through Aberdeen’s Struck Dum Records. It’s a cracker of a mixed bill for a Monday night and it’ll cost ye five bones for the pleasure. It’d be great to see things get nice and cosy in Room at the Top of a Monday evening.

The following Friday, 11th September, sees the inaugural DUNDEEMOFEST happening at RATT and it will be the first and only Scottish show from Nashville, Tennessee emo punks Free Throw as they make their way around the continent on their first European Tour. These dudes are on Count Your Lucky Stars Records and are firm favourites of us in the MTAT camp, so we’re very happy to be hosting them for their only Scottish show. If you haven’t heard these guys before, then I’d recommend checking out the wonderful “Those Days Are Gone” LP for a heart-warming slab on midwestern emo that falls somewhere between the sepia-tinged landscapes of American Football, The Weakerthans and Dikembe; some may call it “emo revival”, I just call it honest, heart-on-sleeve earnest American emocore stripped free of pretense and played with heart, passion and soul.

They’ll be joined on the UK leg of tour by Holy Pinto, who come with great acclaim and shall be playing Dundee for the very first time. These guys have been making a lot of noise recently and have been plying their trade across the UK, Europe and the US so we’re delighted to welcoming them to Dundee. Holy Pinto play a quirky, danceable style of emo/punk not a million miles removed from the likes of Tigers Jaw/The Wonder Years and their “Stenography” EP out on Get This Right Records is a little cracker that I look forward to picking up at the show.

Joining the touring party will be a foursome of Ecossemo’s finest. It’s always a pleasure to host the gentlemen of Carson Wells, who have delivered one of the albums of the year in the form of “Tread A Northern Path”, an utter spellbinding journey and a tour de force that encapsulates everything we love about the Aberdeen three-piece. They’ll be joined by fellow north-east soul punks Min Diesel, who released an incredible LP on their own in the form of “Mince” through Cool Yer Jets and Struggletown Records earlier this year.

It’s only fitting that Dundeemofest features a couple of Dundee bands and we’re very excited about the prospect of hosting the first home town show from Please, Believe! You’ll reckon this band of weel ken’t faces from their previous projects that include the likes of Bonehouse/Gone Wishing/Pensioner/The Fall of Boss Koala/Little Anchors and countless more. These troops take the templates laid by their former projects and inject it with the fire that only being a three-piece can bring, creating a fragile yet chaotic emo/punk rammy that is universally understood while retaining a distinctly north-eastern Scottish identity. With a band of such fine calibre, we expect nothing less than emo fireworks.

Opening the show will be our very own Lachance, who continue to knock it out of the park with their emotionally-charged melodic punk rock, coming over like Latterman being given a solid skate punk kicking for spending too long with their poetry books. Lachance absolutely destroyed it at the Songs For Mum CD release show last month and the addition of Maxwell’s Dead’s Russell Broon on drums has lit a firecracker under them, adding a healthy dose of punk rock fire to the brooding emo flames. Make no mistake, hearts will be bursting out of chests all night long and it’s shaping up to be one of the most emotionally intense nights of what has already been an incredibly emotionally intense year.

There are a limited number of e-tickets remaining that are available for £6, otherwise it’ll be £8 on the door please. We shall also be hosting a hostile MTATakeover of Kage Nightclub after the show and will be spinning the finest in punk/hardcore/emo in the club until the early hours. The show itself is open to all 16+ although I’m afraid that the club night is only open to those 18+. Such are the limitations of Scottish licensing laws I’m afraid. Physical tickets are also available from Groucho’s and cost £6 plus booking free.

Finally (for now), we have an absolute BEAST of a last minute hardcore show happening at Cerberus Bar on Saturday 19th September. This show has come together in the last couple of days and we are still awaiting confirmation from a couple of bands so don’t yet have a poster, but we can promise you that it’s going to be an absolute face-ripper.

Nothing Clean are an absolutely uncompromising powerviolence/hardcore/thrash band from Leicester who had a show fall through in between their Aberdeen and Glasgow shows, so we were more than happy to step into the breach and help them out with a show. I’m compelled beyond my will to lend I hand when I know that I’m in a position to do so and, having spent a fair amount of time out on the road, know that there is nothing worse than having a day off on tour when you were planning on raging!

They’ll be joined to Fife’s newest gnarly instrumental hardcore band God Never Did Anything For Us who will be playing their first ever show. They’ll be joined by another two bands although it’s probably wise to await 100% confirmation before divulging names. Either way, the show will be kicking off at 8pm on Saturday 19th September at Cerberus Bar, Bell Street, Dundee and donations upon entry to support the touring band would be very much appreciated. Please keep your eyes peeled on the MTAT facebook page for futher developments.

Finally, thank you so much to everyone who picked up merch and records during our Summer Vinyl Sale, the support is very much appreciated. We have limited numbers of these cracking MTAT HXC shirts left in a variety of sizes in both black and white, so please head over to our merch page and grab one if you’re keen. We also still have a handful of tote bags left. Thanks so much to our pals BW/WB for hooking this up and we wish them the very best of luck in their future endeavours.

See ye in the pit, punx!

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