By Arianna Balsamo, Music subeditor
She’s fresh from supporting HAIM and preparing to embark on her first solo UK tour when we meet, and albeit it being online, with me sat at my desk facing the miserable chilly day outside my window, Nell Mescal's presence was so warm and evidently buzzing with excitement.
Her new EP, The Closest We’ll Get, feels like it's chronologically told in six parts, almost charting different stages of grief experienced when a romance ends, beginning with heartbreak and feelings of anger, which I felt mostly in 'Middle Man,' and ending in acceptance, or ‘Sweet Relief.’ NME has described her music as ‘indie folk that tugs at the heart strings,’ which is how I felt listening to The Closest We’ll Get all the way through - no breaks - how I think the EP should be listened to.
It's hard to pick a favourite from the sextet. I almost immediately tell her how much I loved 'Sweet Relief,' and ask her which one she likes the most. She doesn’t hesitate long, ‘I think currently it's 'Sweet Relief' as well. I love that song so much. And we played it on the HAIM tour and it was just like, I was not expecting people to love it as much as they did, and that was always the one after the show everyone wanted a video of. That's got a special place in my heart right now.’
When I ask her three words she’d use to describe the EP, Nell takes a beat to think. ‘I would say optimistic, I would say emotional and I would say honest and open.’
‘I think the way we recorded it had a lot to do with how it feels. We did all six songs in three days, completely live, with no headphones, and we weren’t allowed to listen back. If it felt good, it felt good. It was such a freeing and thrilling way of recording, and you end up being much nicer to yourself.’
This spontaneity marks a radical change from her earlier EP, Can I Miss It For A Minute?, released last year. ‘They couldn’t be more different,’ she admits. ‘Can I Miss It For A Minute? was really fine-tuned for a couple of weeks with only a few of us in the studio, whereas The Closest We’ll Get had a lot more people and we didn’t second-guess anything. I loved both processes, but for completely different reasons.’ Even the cover is spontaneous, Nell says, 'we literally just went with the photo of my face and there was nothing else going on.'
When it comes to songwriting, Mescal says that she doesn't have a fixed ritual, but rather, it's a mixture of ‘everything.'
‘Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes it’s melody, sometimes it’s just me humming and playing guitar and hoping something falls into my lap.’
During the making of the record, Mescal was immersed in all kinds of music, though particularly focusing on folk and indie sounds. ‘I was listening to a lot of Big Thief and Adrianne Lenker when I was writing it,’ she says. Mescal also got to work with Philip Weinrobe, who had just produced Lenker's latest album, Bright Future, and in my opinion, the Lenker-esque influence is positively notable. Her other influences included Dora Jar, Katie Gavin and Bess Atwell.
‘There’s a band called Sarah Julia that I think are amazing,’ she says, after I question if there is anyone who she would love to make music with in the future. ‘I’d love to do something with my friend Sam Griffiths (from The Howl & The Hum) - we wrote 'Lose You Altogether' together. And I’d love to sing with Stevie Nicks. That would be the dream.’
Now being based in London, Mescal still feels her Irish identity is in some way woven into her songs. ‘I hope my accent just comes across in some of the words that I say,’ she pauses. ‘I don’t try to sound Irish on purpose, I just hope that being who I am comes through naturally in the songs.’
She’s also glad to experience the popularity wave of Irish artists in the last couple of years. ‘[Lucy Blue's] my best friend, but she’s also one of the most amazing singer-songwriters. And then I love Fontaines, Damien Rice is just also so legendary.’’
Mescal’s affection for her earlier songs is apparent. I was curious to see whether there were any older songs she’d grown tired of, but she imminently shook her head.
‘There's none that I hate. There’s definitely ones that I feel like maybe I'm past now and I've moved on from. Every time I play an older one it has a new meaning for me… I think all of my music still excites me because they take on new meanings the more I listen and the more I get older and revisit them.’
Her approach to the industry is refreshing, as she tells me that the best piece of advice she's been given is 'trying to be a nice person to everyone you meet and being really present... I think that's how you nurture relationships and how you learn the most.’ The sentiment definitely carried through the interview; speaking with her felt more like a conversation with a friend.
If she weren’t writing songs, Nell says she’d probably still find a way to perform in some way. ‘If I wasn’t a singer-songwriter, I think I’d still want to do musical theatre... but if I couldn’t do anything musical, I probably would have studied history or law.’ When I tell her it probably wouldn’t have been as fun, she responds, ‘Yep. I’m glad I stuck with music.’
Mescal's songwriting thrives the most in 'autumn or winter, because that’s when all the lore happens. But summer too, because I’m always out on my balcony with my guitar.
'Still, there’s something about writing in autumn, walking around in the wind, leaves falling, your heart broken for no reason, you're stepping out and putting your scarf on, but it's a really tiny scarf. That’s my favourite time to write.’
Nell has yet to find out about the Bristol skinny scarf epidemic, but I think she will be a fan.
When cheekily asking her if she’s thinking of making an album, she tells me, ‘I would love to make an album. At the moment there are so many songs coming out quite rapidly, but I definitely want to give an album a lot of time and thought. While I’m quietly working on that, I want to keep releasing songs throughout the year.’
If The Closest We’ll Get is any indication, that album will be something truly special. Nell’s tour began on the 9th of November in Glasgow and she is set to play at The Fleece in Bristol on the 11th, so make sure to get your tickets now!
Featured image: @NellMescal / InstagramWhat's your favourite song on The Closest We'll Get?
