Manchester quintet return with sprawling Mercury Rev-esque single
Image Credit – Marieke Macklon
One of the great things about Manchester, and there are many, is the breadth of its musical landscape. There is no “Manchester” sound. Forget Madchester, Oasis, and the plethora of silly little boys with guitars, who think aping a Gallagher is creative. No, this is the city that gave you The Fall, Joy Division, Elbow, Take That, Buzzcocks, Aitch, Witchfever, 808 State and The Smiths. And there are many lesser well known bands like Slap Rash, Duvet and The Battery Farm, who continue to develop and broaden the legacy.
Mewn are no different. A band that has been allowed to develop organically in a city with no agenda. First arriving with 2021’s Landscapes Unchanged EP, the hotly tipped 5-piece drop the new single Ask Me Now today, ahead of an EP of the same name released on 26th April. You’re not going to be hearing this sprawling anthem on any daytime radio show anytime soon. Elaborately clocking in at seven minutes in its most uncompromising form, Ask Me Now runs with a baton passed by numerous other wide-thinking guitar music virtuosos, leaving the extended expressions of The Smiths’ Reel Around The Fountain and Television’s masterpiece, Marquee Moon ringing in the ears. Adding to All The Happiness, the EP’s first single released earlier this year, Mewn’s latest offering is amongst, by their own admission, their strongest yet.
The discreetly experimental, determinedly song-focused band push their own boundaries on the Ask Me Now EP as part of their persistent, insistent challenge to the boundaries of lyrically-focused, soul-affecting indie music.
Mewn’s lead singer, Daniel Bluer says of the single: “I’m floating above the chaos, living on a cloud, watching it all happen, attempting not to explode. We wanted to combine the class and pop leanings of American acts like Big Thief and Father John Misty with the long form experimentation of the current UK post-punk-rock scene”
Recorded at the celebrated Eve Studios in Stockport, all four of the Ask Me Now EP’s tracks were produced by Joel Patchett, a co-architect of releases by artists including Orielles and King Krule. Putting the past side-by-side with the present, Mewn have looked into their own musical loves to develop a sound that sits comfortably as an anomalous feature of live music in the north and beyond, whilst playing alongside prevalent post-punk compatriots.
Traversing Leonard Cohen, Timber Timbre, PJ Harvey and Portishead, amongst many more, their at once insular as well as emotionally generous brand of expansive and atmospheric songwriting has led them to stages nationwide and internationally, including DIY Magazine’s Hello 2022 shows and festivals including Sounds From The Other City in Salford, Manchester’s Psych Fest and Left of The Dial in Rotterdam.
Mewn is Bluer (vocals and guitars), Rachel Bell (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Protz (keys), Daniel Cowman (drums) and Tom Allen (bass).
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