Here’s another nugget from the gold rush in Australia’s indie scene. Once cut off from global culture, interconnectivity has brought the likes of Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and the Goon Sax into even the gloomiest, least marsupial-encumbered corners of the earth. Methyl Ethel – principally the project of Perth’s Jake Webb – tends towards Tame Impala’s baked demeanour, and the versatile funk bass line of Scream Whole recalls their hit The Less I Know the Better. Webb’s zonked, synth-driven psych-pop is also strongly reminiscent of MGMT, and like any hipster currently worth their pink Himalayan salt, Ariel Pink’s stoner-vaudeville act is a clear touchstone, too.
Solidly catchy melodies abound, from the gambolling opener Ruiner to the stately, processional closer No Fighting – the sort of tunes that happily enliven Urban Outfitters’ changing rooms but don’t quite grab your soul. The middling poetry of the lyrics suggest someone who has been royally messed around, mostly to the point of inarticulacy or pathos; while occasionally true to life (“It ended with subtlety / not exile, more devolving”), statements like “I want you now / So I’ve got to shout it: volition!” will have you siding with his presumably exasperated ex-lover.
The very sound of his pent-up, confused ardour will be divisive: as the coos on Hip Horror show, Webb is capable of nimble vocals, but he often opts for a deliberately strained tone, as if trying to push his woes through his colon. His gift for hooks means that even this peculiarity will find fans.
