Mên An Tol share their thrilling debut single ‘NW1’.
From the biggest festival stages to darkened backrooms, the alternative musical landscape across the UK has been alive with musicians proudly celebrating their heritage of late. Seldom has that come from a distinctly English lens though, until now.
London’s Mên An Tol know as much as everyone else about this country’s problems and pitfalls, but the group of pals who came together in the orbit of a Camberwell boozer would rather focus on the elements left to be proud of, leaning into this land’s beauty, magic and lore.
That makes sense given frontman Bill Jefferson grew up singing and performing in and around the pubs of his native Cornwall where he got his musical education. That raw songwriting beauty remains firmly alive on the band’s blistering arrival ‘NW1’, a deeply romantic outpouring as the song’s protagonist takes a tipsy stroll through Camden.
Set over a driving celtic-infused rhythm, the track carries the energy of peak Britpop while retaining an anarchic folky edge. In the accompanying monochrome video, the five-piece moodily hole up in a dimly lit pub corner, stonily swigging Guinness as the anthem storms on.
A band who have quietly become the best kept secret on the London live scene this year, this recorded arrival was almost certainly worth the wait from a group of mates set for great things.
We chat to Mên An Tol inside Issue Fifty of So Young. Pick up a copy here.
Photo by Cole Flynn Quirke
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