Methyl Ethel have returned with a new single, ‘Neon Cheap’, announcing comeback shows in Melbourne and Sydney.
‘Neon Cheap’ is a technicolour groove led by a vocal sample from an Italian folk song. A music video, directed by Tay Kaka, matches that vibe, apparently designed to look like the ’90s ABC teenage gameshow Vidiot, with a pink-filtered thermal camera capturing the band playing.
The band’s frontman/multi-instrumentalist Jake Webb issued a brief statement, referencing his radio silence during last year.
“Sometimes it feels like I’ve had my head in the soil for an absurd amount of time,” he wrote. “Well, I’ve finally pulled it out to show you what’s been going on down there and I can’t wait for you to hear what it’s all about.”
They’ve also signed to Future Classic for the release, and for new Methyl Ethel music to come.
Watch the clip for ‘Neon Cheap’ below.
Of the song, Webb gave an imagistic description of its setting: “Picture yourself scrolling, mind-numbingly at 3am. Now, instead of scrolling, you’re traipsing some vegas-like strip. All the events and people you’d normally read about are there as you walk around, inoculated, casually observing. For me, this is ‘Neon Cheap.’”
Methyl Ethel will promote the single with a new seven-piece band at Melbourne’s The Night Cat on Thursday 22 July and Sydney’s Roundhouse on Friday 23 July – both in-the-round, allowing fans a 360 degree view.
Pre-sale tickets for both shows is open now via Moshtix, with general sale kicking off tomorrow (April 16) from 9am AEST.
The two new shows join the co-headlining shows with Pond in Perth announced last month, set to go ahead over late April and early May. In a teaser for those shows, Methyl Ethel suggested a collaboration between the pair might be imminent.
Methyl Ethel released the ‘Hurts To Laugh’ EP early last year, only reappearing again in June to share ‘Holy Days’ from a Remote Control Records compilation called ‘Bloom and Simmer’. Their last full length album was ‘Triage’ in 2019.