Ethel Cain is one of the most unique and authentic artists to emerge from her small-town stardom into the bigger, more lucrative music scene. Her music is as captivating as her personality, exploring rich themes of nostalgic and southern-gothic experiences sure to have been influenced by her very religion-concentrated childhood in Tallahassee, Florida.
Cain’s most popular album—her debut album “Preacher’s Daughter”— came out in 2022, launching her into a bigger state of recognition. “Preacher’s Daughter” holds a lot of her most popular songs, like “American Teenagers,” “Sun Bleached Flies,” and “Strangers.” This album is a very beautiful narrative project critiquing the often blind-sided nature of the American dream and intense faith, exploring how they both go hand-in-hand in breeding rebellious children and family tensions. Songs like “Thoroughfare” and “A House in Nebraska” show this theme quite well in their lyricism.
The main character of this work is Cain herself; “Ethel Cain” is but a persona that Cain, real name Hayden Silas Anhedönia, takes on for her works. In “Preacher’s Daughter,” Ethel Cain is a troubled teen that experiences the full weight of the experiences that come with being a queer person in the middle of a religious southern town. She escapes, however, with a lover that ultimately leads her to her demise. Cain reminisces about one of her short-lived lovers: Willoughby Tucker.
It’s safe to assume that her upcoming album, “Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You” will continue the story of troubled Cain, all the while reminiscing about Willoughby Tucker. The album is set to come out in August of this year, and it will most definitely be worth the wait!
