‘The Big What If’ was definitely worth the wait. Tom Hudson told Clash, ‘From me and the other boys in the PABH camp I can safely say that we’re all overjoyed to unveil this new beast kicking and screaming into the cosmos. It was created on a diet that consisted mainly of garage rock, fuzz and a curiosity of the unknown.’ That diet certainly shows; the track is grungier than their previous work but bristles with their trademark energy and anger. A wry sense of humour is also in evidence in the track’s standout moment, as an anguished Hudson screams, ‘I’m praying to my toilet bowl, that I won’t be swallowed whole’. There is no video as yet, but you can listen to the track on YouTube, complete with a fittingly dark and psychedelic backdrop:

So much for the track, what about the album we are told will follow it? James Brown spoke to Dork earlier in 2016 about the process of making the album. He explained, ‘we spent three weeks holed up in Sheffield with the wonderful Ross Orton’ and that ‘we’ve really found the adrenalin, vibe and excitement levels in creating this one have been totally off the scale.’ Brown added, ‘we can’t wait for people to hear it.’ Well, now people can hear it, or at least some of it. As for when the full album will be released, Tom Hudson gave little away as he spoke to Annie Mac on her BBC Radio 1 show, where the track was premiered in the Hottest Record slot (via Dork). He said they were, ‘still keeping our cards close to our chests. It’ll be fairly soon.’ So, there will be an album, but as yet we don’t know what it will be called or when we’ll get our hands on it.

Although they haven’t been releasing music, PABH haven’t simply been dormant. Since ‘Blood’, PABH have swapped drummers, with Tommy Davidson replacing Lee Vincent on the kit in a surprisingly drama free split. Vincent cited his dissatisfaction with ‘the life of a touring musician’, as reported in NME, and even went as far as to tweet, ‘their new drummer is gonna kick your dicks in’, per DIY. They’ve also been gigging, including playing Reading and Leeds this year as well as releasing a live album, ‘One Night In Heaven.’

This gigging will now become a full-blown tour with the announcement that the band will tour the UK in March and April of next year. In Hudson’s interview with Annie Mac (via Dork), he said, ‘We’ve got a tour set up at the end of March into April, just to kick it all off really.’ If you can’t wait that long, the band will also be supporting Twin Atlantic at shows next month. The schedule for the full tour is as follows:

27/03 – O2 Academy – Oxford
28/03– Scala – London
29/03 – Thekla – Bristol
30/03 – Talking Heads – Southampton

2/04 – Mama Rouxs – Birmingham
3/04 – Waterfront – Norwich
5/04 – King Tuts – Glasgow
6/04 – Sound Control – Manchester
7/04 – Think Tank – Newcastle
8 /04– Brudenell Social Club – Leeds