Live Review: Methyl Ethel, Totally Mild

Alternative indie four-piece Totally Mild present sparkling ditties capped off by Elizabeth Mitchell's gorgeous voice, which never strays from perfection. Zachary Schneider totally shines on guitar. The effervescent When I'm Tired would make the perfect soundtrack for jumping from one marshmallow cloud to the next - just heavenly. Despite Totally Mild's musical prowess, there's just something missing in their performance to elevate these songs one louder from their recorded versions. It's all there, they just need to project to further draw the crowd in (and it's definitely possible to do this in a non-cheesy way).

Every Howler nook and cranny fills up while the stage is set up for Methyl Ethel. As the trio — comprised of frontman Jake Webb, bassist Thom Stewart and drummer Chris Wright (plus one extra touring musician) — take the stage a reverent hush washes over the crowd. Gentle, echoey strumming and crisp drumming welcome Shadowboxing before Webb's meandering, wounded vocals hold us captive. There's not much between-song banter and we first hear from Webb when he enthuses, "Hey, hey, hey! Danke schon. Thank you very much". But they don't need to carry on. Each band member is an enigmatic presence, instruments are swapped and we're completely invested from start to finish. Their performance is understated, but so very honest. "I found the original cassette that I recorded this on the other day," is how Webb introduces another song, before adding, "And it sounds teeeerrible". (We'd love to hear it and are certain we'd disagree.)

Since first spins of Methyl Ethel's extraordinary new album Everything Is Forgotten, we've been hanging out to cut shapes to new single L'Heure Des Sorcieres and this song totally exceeds our expectations and absolutely slays live. With a "now's the time", Webb prompts a guest saxophonist to the stage for Twilight Drive and something about the chorus melody of this one calls to mind The Crying Game. But, oh mate! When the sax solo hits we're putty. Such a genius injection of extra interest within the set! "There's the drone," Webb teases as the Ubu intro kicks in. "Ah, here it is!" And a reveller with his face covered in glitter bursts through the crowd to get as close to the stage as possible as we all bounce along while singing, "Why'd ya have to go and cut your hair?"

There's no encore fake-out and no encore, but this makes for a refreshing change and we've seen and heard all we need to confirm that Methyl Ethel are headed toward world domination. What a bunch of superstars! The rest of the world is in for a treat when these Perth legends hit international stages from next month.