Methyl Ethel — the nom de plume of West Australian songwriter, producer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jake Webb — unveils a new single/video, “Matters.” Following recently-released single “Neon Cheap,” “Matters” is a true dancefloor filler, whether the dancefloor is the club or your kitchen, you won’t stop moving from start to finish. “I was living in LA while writing this song. After being there a while, I realized that I knew nothing about what to do if there was an earthquake,” says Webb. “It occurred to me that there is the ever-present danger lurking beneath your feet. It’s just something you have to learn to live with, this aura of danger. There are fault lines that run through all of us, threatening to open when we least expect. As the world begins to reckon with a certain cracking of the foundations, I thought it would be interesting to explore the frenetic, reactive feeling of danger.”
About the accompanying video, Webb explains, “I love how powerful the cameras in our pockets are. It’s amazing how quick-on-the-draw people can be when there is something to document. I guess everything has value as an image on the internet. I thought it would be interesting if we (the band and I) basically all filmed a video from our perspective.”
“The song deals with the idea of something catastrophic looming over you. What better way to represent that frenetic, anxious feeling than with shaky phone footage. So, we taped our phones to our chests and shot a video in a cellar in 2 hours. It’s instant and, I think, echoes the reaction a lot of people have to catastrophe, they pull out their phones.”
Video director Duncan Wright (Pond, San Cisco) elaborates, "Jake and I were really interested in creating a video clip which felt quite intense and claustrophobic while also pushing the bounds of phone camera technology and live performance video. We filmed in the cellar of a wine store and taped the band members' phones to their clothes, recording from their point of view. A lighting crew lit the cellar with harsh pulsing lights which really pushed the cameras video capture capabilities. I then played with various techniques in post-production to distort the image further, creating this complex yet visually intriguing live clip."
Methyl Ethel makes music that draws from myriad influences and a history of new wave and indie rock, whilst sounding like its own thing entirely. Both familiar and alien, intimate and aloof, you never quite know what you’re in for, but the trip is bound to be enchanting.
Across three albums (2015’s Oh Inhuman Spectacle, 2017’s Everything Is Forgotten and 2019’s Triage) and three EPs (2014’s Teeth and Guts, 2020’s Hurts To Laugh), Webb has proven to be a prolific and masterful purveyor of eccentric alt-pop. Over the years, Methyl Ethel has evolved from a solo bedroom recording project into what is now a seven-piece live band, touring extensively at home and abroad. The band has appeared at internationally renowned festivals including CMJ, SXSW, Outside Lands, Strangewaves, Levitation, Green Man, Austin City Limits, Field Day, and more.
