Methyl Ethel @ Heaven, 14/3/19

by Caitlin Norris-Grey

After the release of their latest album Triage in February this year, Methyl Ethel had set the scene for their new era of melancholic, yet euphoric, music. The band is named after the colourless chemical used as an industrial solvent, and, if you’ll excuse the pun, they’ve certainly put more than one element into their new album. It’s an album rich in spirit, meaning and a decent amount of toe-tapping melodies. So when I saw Methyl Ethel at Heaven I was excited to see how they would convey the message of the album on stage.

The trio’s entrance on stage revealed them to be as every bit of an indie-rock band as their Spotify bio suggested. Long hair, oversized shirts, forlorn faces. I was definitely in the right place. Their first song, Scream Whole, is what I can only describe as ‘noir-pop’: an eerie number that nonetheless has you humming along. The rest of the set transported the audience to the misty heat of the band’s hometown in Perth. Towards the end of the gig a solid red backlight silhouetted the band to cement the image of a land far away from the drizzly weather of London.

Ubu was played last, a song superficially about a haircut, but which clearly has a much deeper meaning. It has to be said, however, in the moment this deeper meaning was lost on me. Perhaps it was the squished position between two large men I was in far away from the stage, or the quiet sound system that failed to convey the band’s emotion – a frequent problem we’ve had with Heaven - or perhaps it was the placid engagement the band had with the audience. Either way I feel I didn’t fully engage with what Methyl Ethel has to offer. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed the gig and eagerly await for their return to London, hopefully at a venue more capable of getting across their dark tones.