Introducing Nell Mescal
This artist makes music to speak to the soul
If indie music were a party, I’m the girl taking you around the room, introducing you to all the cool kids!
This week’s cool kid is Nell Mescal.
Nell Mescal is an Irish singer-songwriter who moved to London in 2021 to pursue music full time. Since then, she’s headlined in the UK and Ireland, and played at a number of festivals.
Nell Mescal is a true singer-songwriter, following in the footsteps of James Taylor and Carole King. A storyteller whose rich voice soars above cinematic instrumentals, her music touches a universal nerve.
"If I can write a song that makes someone feel something in any capacity or give them some kind of release, that was always my number one thing. I didn't want to write a song that someone just listened to and said 'oh this is nice, I want them to actually feel something and sit there and think about it." — Nell Mescal
Nell aims to make music to move people; she gets her wish every time. When you press play on a Nell Mescal track, her achingly beautiful voice starts in on your heartstrings even before her insightful lyrics sink in.
Nell released her debut EP “Can I Miss It For A Minute?” in 2024. She described it as a “concept EP about growing up, moving away, friendship breakups, and trying to navigate between current emotions and negative memories.”
In just five songs, “Can I Miss It For A Minute?” offers a tasting platter of Nell Mescal’s star power. Her soaring vocal range, hard-hitting lyrics, and lush production feel equally at home in a movie soundtrack and a personal playlist.
Track one opens on a raw note. “Warm Body” ponders the pain of growing up too soon and becoming estranged from those you were once close to.
I vividly remember hearing the song for the first time in a Gilmore Girls edit. Masterful move on Nell’s part!
“You made me leave before I’d grown/I’m just a girl, I’m all alone” — Warm Body by Nell Mescal
“Did Yellow Dresser make you sad?”
Much like Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, Nell is a master at telling universal stories with personal details. Her breakup anthem, “Yellow Dresser”, touches the nerve of abandonment with specific, vivid imagery.
The chorus has a timeless heartbreak that feels all the more painful for its simplicity: I don’t know how to love you anymore, Nell croons, I don’t think I like your company.
The song goes out on a high note—literally—with Nell soaring to the top of her sizable range.
“Killing Time” further explores feelings of estrangement in what Nell revealed to be a friendship breakup song. Over fast-paced guitar and agile melodies, she wonders who’s to blame for the rift.
“How would I know if you’re missing me/if we never speak/you aren’t what I thought/it can’t be all my fault” — Killing Time by Nell Mescal
“Or just the role you played in it?”
Nell Mescal creates a vivid world within the five song EP, with call backs and motifs. Track four, “Electric Picnic”, references an ex hearing her play “Yellow Dresser” at the Electric Picnic festival.
In a rare moment of a songwriter drawing back the curtain, she sings about the complexity of making art from real life.
“I’m not gonna forgive you cuz you’re crying at a song I wrote you last year/it’s been a whole year” — Electric Picnic
“No more resentment, it’s so humbling”
Nell wraps up the album with slow-burn sleeper hit “July”. The gently strumming guitar and soft vocals carry us from the lingering bitterness of “Electric Picnic” to the quiet reality of healing.
In the nearly five minute song, Nell gives us plenty of time for the feeling of closure to sink in.
Building from the delicate vocals of the first verse to an expansive bridge, “July” truly feels like a soft summer day melting away the chill of negative memories.
Taking a page from songs like Silver Springs, the repeated lines build before giving away to the simple statement: “it’s coming up roses”.
In a moment of beautiful melodic math, Nell repeats “it’s coming up roses” over a quiet repetition of the chorus.
If long songs and repetitive outros give you chills like me, you’ll be abusing the replay button on “July”.
“Packed bag, passport, this is moving on”
“Can I Miss It For A Minute?” leaves listeners hungering for more. Fortunately, that’s where Nell’s earlier work comes in.
Fast-paced, bittersweet “Homesick” illustrates the tension between wanting to pack it up and needing to stick it out. If you’re studying far from home, you’ll relate to this one.
“I’m a little bit homesick/but I don’t wanna go home yet/cuz I don’t think that I’ll come back/you said there’s no shame in that” — Homesick by Nell Mescal
Also, something about the melody on “roaming charges” tickles my brain.
“In My Head”, a piano-centric ballad with a rousing pulse-like beat, was featured on the newest season of Heartstopper.
If you love songs that blend danceable beats with raw, acoustic sounds, “In My Head” deserves a spot on your playlist. It also wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Melodrama by Lorde.
Another of my personal favorites is “Teeth”.
A timeless pop song that seems to contain every stage of grief except for acceptance, the chorus is Nell at her best. That is to say, it offers the most heartbreaking lyrics packaged in the catchiest melody. In a lot of ways, “Teeth” feels like a precursor to “Yellow Dresser”.
“Mescal is drawn to and inspired by artists from across genres and generations, the through line being songwriters who are able to emotionally resonate with their audiences, or remind us that as bad as things seem, no one is in it alone.” — Nell Mescal’s official bio
Nell cites artists like Billy Joel as influences, and when you listen to her music, you can hear why.
Her sound may vary and evolve, but it’s always distinctly Nell Mescal. Each of her songs, in their own way, feel like instant classics.
If you love heartfelt storytelling and songs that blend pop production with acoustic sounds, you’re gonna love Nell Mescal.