There’s nothing wrong with a little uninhibited, femme alt-pop and Methyl Ethel make just this. Jake Webb, flying solo on Methyl Ethel, has been busy of late, releasing GUTS (March 2013) and TEETH (November 2013).
GUTS is very vocal heavy and the lyrics describe the suburban youth condition we can all relate to. Webb does a sweet job of integrating vocal harmonies into backing tracks, to the point that you often forget whether the track has backing instrumental at all. Although TEETH was released only 8 months after METHYL’s first EP, the sound is pretty different. Songs flow in and out of one another through the lead vocals ensuring again that minimal backing is needed on most of the tracks. Webb’s voice is cool, calm and collected, yet manages to inflict a contradictory uneasiness on to the listener. Don’t get me wrong TEETH does have some intense rocking moments, especially during the heavier Lagotto Romangolo, and this is all mashed together with harmonized choruses on Tilted and Chelyabinsk. I have a soft spot for bands hailing from Perth, they seem far removed from the sounds you hear coming out of Melbourne and Sydney. Perhaps it’s the distance seclusion, or the idea that it’s so remote they are all slightly wild? In any instance Methyl Ethel is rocking that detached Perth sound I love so much.
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