Mewn float above the chaos to release 'Ask Me Now'

Berlin-era Bowie meets knowing Mancunian melancholy on studied five-piece, Mewn’s latest single…

Ask Me Now

‘The five-piece have a varied dynamism to their work’ - Flood Magazine
 
‘Amongst the current indie landscape, Mewn are doing something fairly singular’ - DIY Magazine
 
Mewn – Ask Me Now – OUT NOW
From the forthcoming Ask Me Now EP
Modern Sky UK

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Depth of thought and depth of record collection combine to dig up the gem that is intellectual-indie anti-anthem, Ask Me Now, the latest single from talked-up Manchester five-piece, Mewn. Preceding an EP release of the same name on Fri 26 April 2024 on Modern Sky, the band – which has supported the likes of The National and appeared on major festival stages such as Blue Dot – release the slowly unfurling, gently ostentatious, longform single as a statement of genre-blending intent.
 
Talking up the complex concepts of Black Country New Road and northern soap opera romance of Pulp, spliced with an established admiration of folk/chamber pop, Mewn’s mission to make a high art of melody re-emerges after past, acclaimed independent releases. First appearing with their ethereal Landscapes Unchanged EP in 2021, 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.
 
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.

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 made up of Bluer (vocals and guitars), Rachel Bell (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Protz (keys), Daniel Cowman (drums) and Tom Allen (bass).
 
For up-to-date information on Mewn releases and all forthcoming gigs, connect with the band online at:
 
https://www.instagram.com/mewnband
https://twitter.com/mewnband
https://www.facebook.com/mewnband

Image:Marieke Macklon