“stacked up against Tame Impala and Courtney Barnett for Australia’s best pyschedelic pop export in 2015” -Rolling Stone Australian trio Methyl Ethel are the latest addition to the 4AD roster. Hailing from the remote fringes of Perth, Western Australia, linchpin Jake Webb started Methyl Ethel in 2013 as a way of getting his bedroom recordings out in the public domain. The assonant moniker takes its name from the chemical compound Webb’s father uses to make fibre-glass – methyl ethyl ketone peroxide. Like 4AD peers Grimes and Bradford Cox, Webb wrote, played and recorded everything on Oh Inhuman Spectacle. Crafted in isolation, its understated psychedelic pop quickly drew positive plaudits from local media, leading Webb to recruit Chris Wright (drums) and Thom Stewart (bass) – friends from the tight-knit and thriving music scene in Perth – to realise the songs live as a fully-fledged band. The trio has grown into a must-see live act and shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize alongside Courtney Barnett and fellow Perth act Tame Impala. Now, having joined 4AD, Methyl Ethel have the opportunity to take their music to a greater audience.
