Are You Haunted?

Jake Webb may tinker away alone on his layered compositions as Methyl Ethel—not unlike fellow Western Australian visionary Kevin Parker—but the results are more extroverted and clubby than ever on his fourth album. Having moved from arty UK label 4AD to more dance-oriented Aussie imprint Future Classic, Webb follows suit with songs that spin his well-documented experimental impulses into itchy electro-pop. “Matters” is especially upbeat and danceable, while the Talking Heads-esque “Neon Cheap” nails another one of his reliably sticky choruses. Even the more pensive piano ballads pack outsized twists, as in the way “One and Beat” builds to an intense finale. Webb even welcomes his first-ever guest singer on “Proof,” with Stella Donnelly bolstering the song’s creeping sense of anxiety around internet-fueled skepticism. Like the best Methyl Ethel tracks, it’s a percolating outlier that features both lush musical detours and a sneaky gravitational pull towards the dance floor.

Are You Haunted? finds Methyl Ethel in a soulless struggle with mortality

Methyl Ethel 'Are You Haunted?' Album Review by Leslie Ken Chu. The Perth, Australia band's EP drops on February 11, 2022 via Future Classic