Content Warning: mentions of addiction and violence.
Alternative artist Ethel Cain announced on Instagram that her new album “Perverts” is set to be released Jan. 8 and her lead single “Punish” is out Nov. 1.
In honor of the announcement of her long awaited new album, the time has come to discuss her flawless 2022 album “Preacher’s Daughter.”
Hayden Silas Anhedönia is the artist’s real name, while Ethel Cain is her stage name and a character she wrote. Anhedönia tells the story of Cain, who grew up in the south with a religious and abusive family where she eventually decides to run away and live on her own. We follow Cain’s search for love and purpose, ultimately ending with her grotesque death at the hands of her flesh-eating paramour.
This album explores the horrific effects of religious trauma within family, domestic abuse and violence against transgender women in America. The story of Ethel Cain does not get lost on its listeners and was constructed to make them feel unsettled.
The record opens with “Family Tree (Intro)” which is just the beginning for striking imagery and gnashing production by Anhedönia.
She uses the violent act of hanging literally and as a metaphor, “Swinging by my neck from the family tree / He’ll laugh and say, ‘You know I raised you better than this / Then leave me hanging so they all can laugh at me.’” Cain is so different from her religious family that when she sins, her family would kill her and use her as the laughing stock of the family. The opener for the album is a powerful one, and is only the start of this tragic story.
“American Teenager,” the second track on the album, is a commentary on American culture surrounding the American Dream. This is the only song on the album that could be categorized as pop, and I believe Anhedönia did this purposefully.
She discussed harsh topics such as death and alcoholism under a guise of upbeat drum patterns and major chords. Cain reveals that her father, who died before the album took place, was the town’s preacher. She has taken over for him by delivering sermons while also dealing with her grief. She apologizes to the congregation for being drunk during service, introducing Cain’s struggle with alcoholism. This is also the first song where Cain describes her complicated relationship with the church and declining faith in God.
The third track, “A House In Nebraska,” is one of the strongest songs and one of my personal favorites on the album. The song is over seven minutes long and tells the story of her first love Willoughby Tucker. He left their small town before the events of this album, and she reflects on their good times and longs for him to return to her. They used to visit an abandoned house in their small town and always fantasized about moving far away together and living in a house in Nebraska. This song is incredibly heartbreaking from Cain’s perspective. The one person and only saving grace from getting away from home has left her behind.
“You know, I still wait at the edge of town / Praying straight to God that maybe you’ll come back around / I cry everyday, and the bottles make it worse,” sings Cain.
This song in particular is special to me not just because of the woeful lyrics, but because of the beautiful guitar solo that serves as the outro for the song. Anhedönia’s guitar playing is so impressive, I always get excited to listen to the end of the song just for the solo.
The seventh track, “Thoroughfare,” is about Cain who has now run away from home meeting a man named Isaiah on the side of the road. They decide to go on a road trip to the West together and start to fall in love.
This track is one of my favorites because of Anhedönia’s storytelling skills. Whenever I listen to this song I feel like I am watching a feature film. She is so descriptive and expressive with her vocals I can almost feel the southern breeze in Isaiah’s truck. The production is simple for this track except for the end, which is essentially a two-minute jam session. With Cain’s airy scatting, tambourine and bongos it immerses you into the scene.
“Gibson Girl” is arguably one of the saddest songs on the album disguised with club-like synths and vocoders. At this point in the story, Isaiah begins to pimp Cain out in the back of strip-clubs and starts feeding her drugs. This track has an interesting balance of a haunting but sultry atmosphere.
Anhedönia stated that she wrote this song about the lack of patriarchal control women, especially transgender women, have in sexual situations. She wrote this for Cain to have a false sense of control with Isaiah, and wrote the lyrics in an almost Stockholm syndrome point of view. Anhedönia does a phenomenal job balancing the vulgarness of the song with sensual and floaty production.
“Ptolemaea” is the next track which is derived from the word “Ptolemy,” one of the four rings in the ninth circle of Hell in Dante Aligehri’s “Dante’s Inferno.” This track is possibly one of the most haunting songs I have heard in my life.
Isaiah is torturing Cain in his attic and is taunting her while she is pleading for divine intervention, crying out, “stop, make it stop.” The climax of the song is Cain projecting a blood-curdling scream of “stop!” The scream is so jarring and genuinely disturbing it will immediately make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The production on this album is insane, with sounds of flies buzzing and muted screams. Isaiah delivers a monologue at the end of the song, conveying the scariest lyrics from the whole album.
“Blessed be you, girl / Promised to me by a man who can only feel hatred and contempt towards you / I am no good nor evil, simply I am / And I have come to take what is mine,” he says.
“Sun Bleached Flies” is a sentimental ballad reflecting on Cain’s life. She describes her longing and grief for the life she had. Cain sings that she turned to God right before her death. She knew that she was not going to be saved from Isaiah, so all she could do was pray for it to be over.
“What I wouldn’t give to be in church this Sunday / Listening to the choir so heartfelt, all singing / God loves you, but not enough to save you,” Cain cries.
That line is my favorite from the album, Anhedönia verbalizing what a lot of people questioning their religion have thought. God loves all of his children, but why can’t he save us all from suffering or death?
The last song on the record, “Strangers,” is one of her best due to its iconic double entendre. Anhedönia has confirmed that after Isaiah killed Cain in his attic, he put her body in his freezer and cannibalized her. This track is Cain talking directly to Isaiah about his emotions and how she tastes in the same sentence. She uses words like “tough” or “good” to describe herself not only as a person but also as a piece of meat.
“Am I no good?… / If I’m turning in your stomach and I’m making you feel sick / Am I making you feel sick?” Cain sings.
She uses cannibalism as a metaphor for love as well, displaying the desperation to get so close to someone you feel the need to literally digest them. The romantic implication of being connected to another person that you have to devour them is incredibly creative and twisted, and I love how Anhedönia included this layer into the album.
Cain ends the album on a happier note, speaking directly to her mother.
“Don’t worry about me and these green eyes / Mama, just know that I love you / And I’ll see you when you get here,” Cain sings.
Convoluted world-building and story aside, “Preacher’s Daughter” is a textbook example of showing and not telling. You can visualize and understand exactly what Anhedönia is trying to say just by the production. Her expert use of guitar for some songs and piano for others as well as vibrating synths designed an exemplary album. The themes of religious guilt, trauma, misogyny and transphobia resonated with younger fans including myself. This alone makes “Preacher’s Daughter” one of the best albums I have ever listened to.
The story of the Cain family is far from over, with Anhedönia’s upcoming album “Perverts” surrounding the story of Cain’s mother. She revealed that her next album will be the story of Cain’s grandmother. The history of the daughters of Cain is just beginning, and fans cannot wait.
