By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Over the years, singer-songwriter Hayden Silas Anhedönia — better known to most as Ethel Cain — has mastered the art of blending ambient and gothic sounds into the pop genre through her eccentric music. Despite her abnormal tone and songs about niche topics such as religious trauma and queerness, Cain has accumulated a devoted following of fans who have dubbed themselves “daughters of Cain.”
Album by album, Cain’s lyrics and sound have trended darker and more morbid. I was right to assume her latest album released on Jan. 8, “Perverts,” would be no different. This album gives a literal, physical sensation of being weighed down. It’s that heavy. Still, as I listened, I found myself wondering with each passing song if things would lighten up.
Much like the rest of Cain’s discography, “Perverts” isn’t exactly a casual listen. It’s not meant to be consumed while doing the dishes, walking on the treadmill or going grocery shopping. It’s one of those albums you listen to in a dark room, in silence, maybe curled up in bed. It demands undivided attention, solemnity respect.
This collection of nine songs lapsed a total listening time of one hour and 29 minutes. If that seems long for a nine-song album, you’re correct. Songs like “Perverts,” “Houseofpsychoticwomn” and “Amber Waves” are all upwards of 10 minutes long, with “Pulldrone” being the longest at 15 minutes and 14 seconds. I found these extreme lengths of such eerie, disturbing songs to be uncomfortable as a listener, but necessary to convey the intense emotion Cain is trying to project.
The introductory track, “Perverts,” pays homage to Cain’s religious past and trauma with a muffled, haunting cantation of “Nearer, My God, To Thee.” This is followed by numbing, droning and accusatory taunts of “heaven has forsaken the masturbator” and “masturbator!” However, we don’t get to hear the artist’s recognizable singing voice until the second track, “Punish.” This track is true to her usual ethereal, siren-esque vocals and gritty cries and screeches of the electric guitar.
“Houseofpsychoticwomn” does an especially good job of making the listener feel as if they are going mad. The track leads with alarming, rapidly repeating and uncanny exclamations which I can’t quite make out to be voices or sound effects of some sort. Human or not, I can’t help but hear cries of “help,” “no” and “get out,” — none of which pose particularly cheery meanings. This song truly forces the listener to embody what it is to be crazy, with the constant ringing, repetitions of “I love you” with no response and otherworldly, almost irritating effects.
After “Houseofpsychoticwomn,” I’m not gonna lie — for me, the next tracks, including “Vacillator,” “Pulldrone” and “Etienne” just kind of melded together into one long, nightmarish track. I was only able to jerk myself out of the depressing haze these songs had put me in once I reached the last song of the album.
“Amber Waves” is the one breath of fresh air, the light at the end of the tunnel. Though the sound and projection might feel like a weight off the shoulders, the words still denote a weighty meaning, given away by the sampling at the beginning saying, “Um, how much should I take?” and “I would recommend that you just take as much as you need / To feel good.” These words suggest a theme that could only be one of addiction, perhaps to numb the extensive torment she channeled in her album.
“Perverts” is such an out-of-body experience for an album so focused on shame regarding the human body and the sexual desires that come with it. She gives a tremendous delivery of what it might have been like to grow up in the church as a gay kid who eventually came out as trans, who she was is something that had been deemed sinful. Though no longer a Christian, her childhood continues to inspire much of her musical artistry, as seen here in “Perverts.”
Ethel Cain’s music — specifically this album — is not for everyone. But then again, it’s not supposed to be. But if you’re all for the gritty rawness this Southern gothic iconic usually serves, be sure to tune in.
