4AD recently added Australian trio Methyl Ethel to its roster. Their debut album, Oh Inhuman Spectacle comes out digitally this week, followed by release on vinyl and CD in May. The album was originally released on Dot Dash in Australia. The band begins their US tour next week in New York and will perform at SXSW.

Hailing from the remote fringes of Perth, Western Australia, linchpin Jake Webb started Methyl Ethel in 2013 as a way of getting his bedroom recordings out in the public domain. The assonant moniker takes its name from the chemical compound Webb’s father uses to make fibre-glass – methyl ethyl ketone peroxide. It was under this pseudonym multi-instrumentalist Webb released the early EP diptych Guts and Teeth.

Methyl Ethel made their first US appearance at the CMJ music conference. The trio will now return next month beginning March 10th at Baby’s Alright in Brooklyn. Other highlights include shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle and festival appearances at Levitation Chicago, Treefort Festival in Boise, Idaho and Austin’s annual SXSW Music Festival.

METHYL ETHEL – OH INHUMAN SPECTACLE
CAD3641 [CD/LP/DL]
1. Idée Fixe
2. Shadowboxing
3. Rogues
4. To Swim
5. Twilight Driving
6. Depth Perception
7. Unbalancing Acts
8. Also Gesellschaft
9. Obscura
10. Artificial Limb
11. Sweet Waste
12. Everything Is As It Should Be

FULL SXSW SCHEDULE
Mar 14 – Hotel Vegas – Do 512 Party // 9:30PM
Mar 16 – Sidewinder – Secret Sounds / Falls Party // 3:00PM
Mar 16 – Pearl St. Coop – KVRX / WNYU Party // 6:00pm
Mar 16 – Tap Room – Official Showcase // 10:00PM
Mar 17 – Hotel Vegas – Levitation Party // 2:00PM
Mar 17 – Red Eyed Fly – After The Gold Rush Party // 4:00PM
Mar 18 – Mohawk – Windish Party // 2:00PM
Mar 18 – Brush Square Park – Aussie BBQ // 3:35PM
Mar 18 – Parish – Official Showcase // 10:00PM

METHYL ETHEL TOUR DATES
March 10 – BROOKLYN, NY, Baby’s Alright
March 12 – CHICAGO, IL, Levitation Chicago at Thalia Hall
March 15-18 – AUSTIN, TX, SXSW
March 19 – SAN ANTONIO, TX, Heatwave at Paper Tiger
March 22 – DENVER, CO, Lost Lake Lounge
March 23 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT, Kilby Court
March 24 – BOISE, ID, Treefort Festival
March 25 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Rickshaw Stop
March 28 – LOS ANGELES, CA, School Night at Bardot
March 30 – SEATTLE, WA, Barboza
April 14 – MELBOURNE, Northcote Social Club
April 15 – ADELAIDE, Jive
April 22 – PERTH, The Rosemount
April 30 – SYDNEY, Plan B
May 17 – LONDON, Shacklewell Arms
May 19-21 – BRIGHTON, The Great Escape
May 23 – LONDON, Old Blue Last
May 25 – PARIS, La Fleche D’Or
May 26 – NIJMEGEN, Merleyn
May 28 – AMSTERDAM, London Calling