Live Review: Methyl Ethel, Segue Safari

Methyl Ethel are primed to be the next band out of Perth to follow Tame Impala and Pond down the path towards world domination. The band have two more (sold-out) shows in the country before heading over to the UK and Europe — with Pond, no less — so the opportunity to see the boys play in the cosy confines of Fremantle Arts Centre on a warm Saturday night was pretty special.

Support for the evening came from Segue Safari, who warmed up the audience with their smooth blend of '60s psych-rock. Vocalist Jeremy Segal demonstrated strong versatility in his vocal range as well as his style — sometimes he would sing in his lower-mid range, sounding out of key, but strangely it worked for the song. Other times, such as during their final track, he would bring out his falsetto and it sounded fantastic. They have a selection of really strong tracks that hopefully we'll get to see in the form of an album or EP sometime soon.

Methyl Ethel appropriately kicked off their set with the slow-burning Shadowboxing, after which a handful of punters decided to forgo the comfort of their picnic blankets and stand up. The rest of the crowd followed suit. Bassist Thom Stewart cheekily dobbed frontman Jake Webb in for having laryngitis but, if that were the case, Webb held himself together extremely well. The ever-dreamy Rogues followed next, before the pace kicked up a notch with No 28: the first single from the band's forthcoming second album, Everything Is Forgotten. The hook got people moving and it was great to see how many folks around the place already had the song completely memorised.

We were also treated to a few new songs from the new album. Weeds Through The Rind and L'Heure Des Sorcieres fit in well with second single Ubu (which was also played), keeping to that upbeat dream-pop tempo while set closer Drink Wine, which poses as the album's opener, saw Webb at his best, drawing on his glorious falsetto work while also finding time to bust out some of his weird and wonderful stage moves. Twilight Driving was, naturally, the high point of the set as the crowd found a bit of voice and the band fed off it, putting as much enthusiasm into the chorus as possible; the only thing that would make it an absolute show-stopper is if they could have someone ready side-stage to play that glorious sax solo towards the end of the song. Hopefully they can incorporate this suggestion into their Euro tour. There's no denying Methyl Ethel will be stealing the hearts of many during their overseas adventure, but Webb assured us at the end of the set that Perth will always have his.