Ethyl Ether Premiere “Voodoo” Video
One might find Ethyl Ether‘s third album, Chrome Neon Jesus, surprisingly clearheaded in its purposes for an offering that begins with a song called “The Smoke Waits for No Man.” That may or may not be — about the smoke, that is — but the South African heavy rockers unfurl a steady presence and sense of control with their songwriting, launching with some atmospherics deriving from late-’80s nighttime-on-wet-pavement dramas and earlier ’70s rock for a sound that’s coherently modern and becomes less predictable as they go on. To wit, the shouts in the subsequent “Ode” or the proggier wash in “Under the Milky Way” as Chrome Neon Jesus moves fluidly along its course each carry an underlying semblance of order even as they set up turns like the more brash stomping of “Therapy” or the all-go motor riffing of “Voodoo,” which (presumably) ends side A and for which you can see a tripped out video premiering blow.
The vibes continue to get richer as Ethyl Ether proceed into the Cantrell-ian guitars of “Diamonds” and the willfully punkier push of “Cold Black Soul,” tapping into dreamy pop grunge on “Faces” ahead of the spacious “Is Anybody Different” and “Higher Than Drugs,” which rounds out, again surprisingly lucid, with a melodic hook worthy of mid-’90s radio even unto its handclaps and gang-chant chorus finish. Self-awareness on the band’s part extends to them referring to themselves as pop, and that assessment is fair insomuch as it extends to the accessibility of what they’re doing and the obvious care they put into making it. While the vocals sometimes drawl out and tempo gets languid, there may be “happy accidents” that happened in the studio, but nothing across the songs is more out of place than it wants to be, and mix is impeccable. In this way, yeah, Chrome Neon Jesus is pop, if you’re using that word as a stand-in for “professionalism.”
And maybe they are — admittedly “pro” is a bit drier and arrogant in terms of self-applied tags for a band. One way or the other, their sound may prove too clean for some, but I suspect those who continue to dig into the tracks will find something to latch onto that justifies the effort. They know what they’re doing, and if you like songwriting, they’re songwriters.
“Voodoo” doesn’t represent the whole of Chrome Neon Jesus — I’d be hard-pressed to pick a single that does — but if you haven’t had a chance to plunge into the full-length, the Bandcamp stream is at the bottom of this post as well, courtesy of Mongrel Records.
Enjoy the video:
Ethyl Ether, “Voodoo” official video premiere
Drawing from a deep well of musical inspiration that blends blues, psychedelia and rock n roll, South African heavy rockers Ethyl Ether have released a video for their latest single Voodoo. The track is taken from the bands well received 2020 release Chrome Neon Jesus.
“Voodoo is a psychedelic trip that takes you back to the good ol’days of rock n roll. No frills, no fancy, just a song to lose your shit to. And then play it all over again.” Comments Pabs (bass/vocals)
DOWNLOAD / STREAM ‘VOODOO’: https://orcd.co/ethyl_ether_voodoo?
DOWNLOAD / STREAM ‘CHROME NEON JESUS’: https://orcd.co/chromeneonjesus
Vocals,Guitar – Andrew Paine
Bass/Vox – Pabs
Drums – Patrick Naidoo
Lead Guitar – Mornay Carstens
Album Produced by Ethyl Ether
Ethyl Ether, Chrome Neon Jesus (2020)
Mongrel Records on Thee Facebooks
Tags: Cape Town, Chrome Neon Jesus, Ethyl Ether, Ethyl Ether Chrome Neon Jesus, Mongrel Records, South Africa
