Q&A: Jake Webb from Methyl Ethel Walks Us Through 'Are You Haunted'?
WHAT ARE YOU HAUNTED BY? — This is one of the many questions we asked singer-songwriter Jake Webb from the Australian art rock band Methyl Ethel, just in time for the release of their first post-lockdown project, Are You Haunted?
After dropping lead singles “Neon Cheap” and “Matters” in late 2021, their latest song, “Proof,” featuring the fellow Australia-based musician Stella Donnelly, dropped in Jan. 2022, the day Are You Haunted? was officially announced.
It was a brief stay in Los Angeles before the pandemic hit that inspired the above-mentioned first two singles. But how? While listening to “Neon Cheap,” which strongly recalls the sound of Talking Heads, Webb suggests we picture ourselves walking down “some Vegas-like strip,” observing the events and people we’d normally read about, but that are now — at least in our mind’s eye — right in front of us.
“Matters,” on the other hand, originated from the idea of potentially experiencing an earthquake in LA: “It occurred to me that there is the ever-present danger lurking beneath your feet,” Webb explains, “It’s something you have to learn to live with, this aura of danger.”
Representative of the strongly political undertones of the album, “Proof” constitutes a meditation on what is considered reality in the post-Trump, post-climate-crisis, post-lockdown era, “in which science and fiercely-guarded fantasy go head-to-head in the realm of public discourse.”
Webb joins our call from his studio in Perth, Australia, surrounded by his recording equipment, which has become a usual environment for him in these two years spent working on the album. Luna got the chance to ask him more about how much his sound has or hasn’t changed since his last project, and what he wishes to convey to his listeners from a music standpoint.
LUNA: How long have you been working on Are You Haunted? Which songs did you compose first and which followed?
WEBB: Some ideas are from 2019, but it wasn’t until the beginning of 2020 that I started actually working on what was going to be the album. I think I had it pretty much ready to mix in July of last year. Then I took a break from it and mixed it around September of last year.
LUNA: This is your first full-length, post-lockdown project. How did the occurrences of the past few years shape your current sound and themes? What do you think has changed the most?
WEBB: That’s a good question. I was living in Los Angeles for a short period of time in 2019, and then I came back to Perth to prepare for touring. But then COVID shut all the borders and I’ve been here ever since. I think just being in this space and spending a lot more time working just on the music — and not being interrupted — I think that was the most influential thing.
LUNA: On the other hand, what do you think has not changed? What will long-term fans of Methyl Ethel be able to recognize of your past efforts in this brand-new project?
WEBB: I like to think that’s probably the sound of my voice. I always like to slide my way into something fresh. I don’t know, for me it’s just the sound of my voice that’s the same.
LUNA: How did your collaboration with Stella Donnelly come along?
WEBB: She’s a friend; she was also in Perth. She’s the first person I thought of to come and guest on the song. And it worked out perfectly — she’s really great. I asked her and she said yes.
LUNA: You stated that “Proof” is “a song about truth and movies,” which represents living in a society where truth and lies are often blurred. Would you say there is essentially a political theme at the core of the album?
WEBB: Totally, yes. But I think anything I’m commenting on is more a sort of questioning. We’re being teased with the idea that the whole system might actually change someday, especially with the new generations coming through and seeming to have the energy and passion to push for something to change. Observing that, it’s a very exciting time. It’s also a challenging time. But I think that, in the last five years, everyone who has been relatively aware of the universe has learned a lot of things about social justice that people would ordinarily find easy to avoid. So it’s unavoidable that those sorts of things find their way into our lives from now on.
LUNA: Despite the political undertones, Are You Haunted? is a very fun album to listen to. It’s also very easy to dance to. Despite the rather ambiguous title, is it an optimistic album after all?
WEBB: I don’t know if it’s optimistic or not. You know when you’re sitting on a long train ride on your own? It’s like you’re thinking about things: the potential for good and the potential for bad, but it’s neither. It’s just music to think to.
LUNA: Do you see your album being the soundtrack for a movie? And if you have an existing movie in mind, which one?
WEBB: No, I don’t think it could be a soundtrack to a movie, just because it would maybe be a really bad movie. It would make sense in my head, perhaps. But it wouldn’t be a movie I would like to watch, basically. Maybe it’s a movie directed by someone who hasn’t been born yet.
LUNA: What’s one takeaway you wish your listeners will remember after listening to the record? What do you want to say to them?
WEBB: I [would] love [for] people to really listen to it deeply, with whatever headphones or AirPods they want to listen to it with. But move around. Let the movie that you’re talking about be your life. I think that’s the way I love to listen to music: I love to be traveling around. Engaged in a sense, but also not. Kind of like watching the world and having a soundtrack by that music, then it’s like you’re sharing the experience that I had while making it. That’s the way I think of it.
LUNA: Do you personally have a favorite song? If you do, which one is it?
WEBB: I love “Castigat Ridendo Mores.” I don’t know — that one I really like. I really love “Kids on Holiday.” There’s something about that song that … I don’t know. Also “Something To Worry About.” There’s quite a lot that I like. With the live band, we recorded ourselves playing the album in full, so I’m mixing that at the moment. Every time I mix a different song, it becomes my favorite for a time.
LUNA: Recalling the album title, what are you currently haunted by?
WEBB: You know what, I’m haunted by weeds. I’ve been doing some gardening at my house and I’ve become obsessed with the weeds in the garden. So every time I go out there it’s like I’m constantly fighting against these weeds. I suppose that’s what I’m haunted by.
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