4AD
METHYL ETHEL - Oh Inhuman Spectacle LP
$43.95
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Jake Webb is the mastermind behind Methyl Ethel, and he's put together a debut album that is both fiercely individual and curiously familiar. Oh Inhuman Spectacle is defined by his unhurried but never lazy guitar leads and his androgynous vocal performance - he has spoken in interviews of making something that sounds genderless, and he has succeeded.
The album has a dreamy and watery feeling, like the whole sound might slip through your fingers, or at its best moments like you are soaking in warm musical waves. It's distinctively Australian too, with "Twilight Driving" giving the important advice every newcomer to the country needs to know the moment they leave an urban area: "twilight driving, gotta watch out for the roos". Oh Inhuman Spectacle does have a few moments that drag a little and it could have been better for being slightly shorter, but that's a minor complaint. It is a subtle, intriguing album that reveals greater depth on repeat listens.
The album has a dreamy and watery feeling, like the whole sound might slip through your fingers, or at its best moments like you are soaking in warm musical waves. It's distinctively Australian too, with "Twilight Driving" giving the important advice every newcomer to the country needs to know the moment they leave an urban area: "twilight driving, gotta watch out for the roos". Oh Inhuman Spectacle does have a few moments that drag a little and it could have been better for being slightly shorter, but that's a minor complaint. It is a subtle, intriguing album that reveals greater depth on repeat listens.
