Songs Worth Streaming: Methyl Ethel - Proof feat. Stella Donnelly
The headline-sized WA collaboration comes as Methyl Ethel announce their new album - Are You Haunted? - out this February.
Header image by Xan Thorrhoea.
Methyl Ethel and Stella Donnelly are two artists that need no introduction within the West Australian music sphere, having both solidified their names amongst the hallmark headliners of Perth/Fremantle culture. What some mightn't know, however, is that the pair have a long-winding relationship that has seen them share stages together in a multitude of ways, whether it be featuring on festival line-ups together or the one time that Methyl Ethel enlisted Donnelly as a stand-in guitarist while on tour.
Now, however, their collaborative partnership grows ten-fold as the pair link-up in the studio space, as Jake Webb enlists Stella Donnelly for their latest single Proof, and thus welcoming in the first singing guest collaborator to the Methyl Ethel universe. Out now via Future Classic, Proof is Methyl at their forward-thinking best, showing excellence Jake Webb is able to create through dizzying, outwards-facing lyricism and the dancing productions that often swirl alongside; Proof, in this instance, layering reflective thoughts on the changing and chaotic world with a production that shines with notes of funk and disco.
"Stella is one of the most truth-telling artists I’ve ever heard. It made for a perfect match," shares Jake Webb on the collaboration, with an appreciation shared by Stella Donnelly, who has presumably been working on her long-awaited sophomore record, the follow up to her breakthrough Beware of the Dogs. "Working on Proof with Jake felt like being invited to the set of your favourite movie, such an insightful and wonderful experience."
The single arrives with news that Methyl Ethel will share their incoming fourth album Are You Haunted? on February 18th, featuring Proof alongside the previously released Neon Cheap and Matters. You can pre-order the record here and find their forthcoming tour dates below, but otherwise, take a listen to Proof below:
Tour Dates:
Fri 25 Feb – Perth Festival, Perth, WA
Sat 26 Mar – Meadow Festival, Bambra, VIC
Thur 21 April – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD
Fri 22 April – Roundhouse, Sydney, NSW
Wed 27 April – The Night Cat, Melbourne, VIC
Thur 28 April - The Night Cat, Melbourne, VIC
Fri 29 April - The Night Cat, Melbourne, VIC
Sat 23 July – Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay, NSW