MWG (UK, Wales) - Pesda '86 (7", Sain, 1986)

RATING: *

Last update: August 22, 2021

After listening to this 7" from Welsh-singing band Mwg for the first (and possibly only) time, I can't help but wonder why in hell some hopelessly deluded (or delusional) individuals labeled it as a NWOBHM collectable. I remember first seeing it on Rockdetector (now MusicMight), in a entry filled with a minimal amount of information - the front cover of this "Pesda '86" single, the year of release (1986, of course) and the tag NWOBHM. Other sources seem to have taken this vague description as legitimate, considering this 7" to be a NWOBHMish-enough record and even including it on some want lists out there. Such an effort, my friends, and it was all in vain - as it isn't even "heavy", let alone a NWOBHM collectable in any sense.

Oh well, we kinda could see it coming, to be honest. Look at the front cover: no archetypal headbangers there, right? To be honest, I never really thought Mwg (translates as "Smoke", by the way) would give me heavy metal when I finally had the chance to listen to their single, but I would never expect it to be THAT soft. Actually, both "Pesda '86" (which seems to be a re-recording, considering its title) and "Darn O'r Haul" are inconsistent ballads, covered in such a huge wall of keyboards and harmonised vocals that the whole listening experience was near-torture to my ears. OK, maybe the disappointment made me overreact, but I must be honest and say that (sorry, guys) I didn't like it at all. To be fair, you can listen to a few guitar chords on "Pesda '86", although they are as heavy as cambric paper, the song as a whole being utterly disposable for the average metal fan. "Darn O'r Haul" is slighty better than its predecessor - the chorus is OK, I suppose, considering you like ultra-pop, keyboard-oriented ballads from the 1980s. It seems to have been a minor hit in Welsh-language charts, incidentally, as it appears on a few best-of compilations from Sain.

I could only recently determine the musicians involved with the venture by the time "Pesda '86" was recorded, and I guess it's of some interest to say that Huw Smith (the same musician from Maffia Mr. Huws and Llwybr Cyhoeddus) played keyboards on this one. It's also a fact that drummer Graham Land (who lent a stick to other Welsh-language obscurities such as Omega, Rhiannon Tomos A'r Band and Rohan) took a part in Mwg in the dim and distant past, though he wasn't around when these particular tunes were laid down on tape (not that he would be really needed, given the featherweight nature of the songs, but nevermind). There's a further vinyl appearance from seemingly later the same year, when Mwg contributed "Dim Gair" to the second (and apparently the last) instalment of the "Popdri" compilation EP series, but I never managed to find any audio files, let alone a copy; I would like to give it a listen for sure, but it's hardly the kind of music that would set my pulse racing, then I'll leave it to Lady Luck rather than make any strenuous effort to locate it.

As a final piece in the (still largely incomplete) puzzle named Mwg, there's a video on YouTube showing the lads in a live performance of a song called "Dreifio". It's not Heavy Metal in the strict sense of the word, but it's indeed a heavy rocker which would loosely justify the (still largely misleading) NWOBHM tag I found on Rockdetector so many years ago. Too bad their vinyl legacy (as far as I know it) is so boring - and, considering this final number, quite unrepresentative.

Steve Roberts (V/G), Les Morrison (B/BV), Gareth Huws (D), Huw Smith (K).

01. Pesda '86 3:58
02. Darn O'r Haul 3:48

MWG - Dreifio (live): http://youtu.be/2XSSylRbZQM (embed disabled by user's request)

Special thanks to Strappado Metal Blog for MP3 files

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me at drequon@gmail.com and let me know!