Ethel Cain - "Perverts"

It's happening to everybody

I want to start by prefacing that this album is one of the most non-standard, off-the-wall album experiences you will find. And it’s very intentional.

Ethel Cain is another name that I’ve heard a lot of in recent years. Her 2022 debut album, Preacher’s Daughter, made waves — enough that I wish I had noticed it then, and the songs I’ve sampled in preparation for this review are pretty phenomenal. Fittingly, she already has a pretty substantial fanbase (“Daughters of Cain”)¹ with a lot of discussion about the conceptual progression and lore of this first planned trilogy of albums. Cain, whose real name is Hayden Silas Anhedönia, has been very open with her plans, and has even revealed the titles of the next two albums in the trilogy: Preacher’s Wife and Preacher’s Mother.²

Perverts, of course, is not one of those. It isn’t even remotely the same vibe as its predecessor: Preacher’s Daughter has been tagged as Americana, Folk, and Goth-Pop; Perverts is Slowcore and Drone. Incidentally, if you need a very quick idea as to what this album sounds like, look at the album art (above); I’ve never seen cover art that so aptly captures the music behind it.

In order to approach this album fairly, it’s important to note that it is intended to be a sort of side release. It’s actually marketed as Cain’s fourth EP; but…EPs are generally between 10-25 minutes, and Perverts runs for 89. It’s longer than most LPs. For that reason, various sources, including Wikipedia, are listing it as something separate from either standard format. And, as I’ve stated on here many times, I don’t write about EPs. Or live albums. Normally, if I list an artist because they have a release coming, then it turns out to be an EP or Live or Compilation album, I DQ it and move on.

Perverts is different enough that I think it needs to be included and discussed. Part of that is because I think many listeners might hear good things about Cain, then be completely confused if they put this album on first — I know I was.

This isn’t her first foray into Slowcore, though. Her 2021 EP, Inbred, was also flagged as a Slowcore album by critics. But that record was also Americana, probably more akin to Julien Baker’s material than anything found on Perverts.

The side-project angle aside, another key factor in why this album is so unique has to do with the record business. See, when an artist signs with a label, the agreement is typically defined by a specific number of releases (LPs, EPs, and Singles). Reportedly, Cain still needed one more EP to complete her contract with Prescription Songs, a label owned by the controversial Dr. Luke, a shitbag I haven’t had the opportunity to badmouth since I reviewed Kim Petras’ Feed the Beast and Problematique in 2023. Of course, looking back at those now, I really didn’t diss him hard enough.

Kinda disappointed in myself.³

If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Luke, he’s the industry force behind acts like Ke$ha and Katy Perry — but he is now best known for drugging and raping Ke$ha early in her career. She came forward and sued him over it in 2014, and the case finally settled in 2022. Cain admitted in 2023 that she was not fully aware that Prescription was owned by Dr. Luke when she signed and that she regretted tying her career to his name.

So releasing an absurdly long, highly experimental EP which is unlikely to garner much in the way of acclaim, especially if it’s her final contractual obligation, feels like an intentional middle finger. And, honestly, I love that for her.

I’ve now spent plenty of time on the fact that the album is strange and the reasons why…but we’ve not yet discussed how or whether it’s worth your time. As mentioned above, the primary genres here are Slowcore and Drone (this latter is a genric label I’ve never seen applied, but it makes sense); some critics have also used terms like Dark Ambient and Power Electronics, which underscores the fact that genres are ultimately just made up categories so we can try to group like with like in order to describe music effectively. I think Experimental Rock or Experimental Indie would be more appropriate genric tags, but they aren’t as descriptive.

So allow me to pull it apart for you — this album, like all Slowcore, is painstakingly and deliberately slow. It’s right there in the name. It lingers and languishes on every chord, every note, every thought. The genre lends itself well to artists who focus heavily on darker subjects such as mental illness and grief and loss, but Cain takes all of that a step further here. Much of the album feels like a fracturing of reality or a psychotic break. So instead of the low tempo you might get in a Julien Baker song, for example, you’re often left with the sensation that there is no tempo at all. Even on the few tracks that have percussive elements, such as “Vacillator”, the beat wavers. It’s incredibly unsteady, with subtle and sudden instances of ritardando or accelerando.

“Dark Ambient” does feel like an apt descriptor — the album is very dark, tonally and thematically, and every track resonates with distortions and ambient sounds and droning elements. These elements differ across the album — in “Pulldrone”, it's a hurdy-gurdy, but in the song before, “Onanist”, there’s a long moment of droning electric bass that sends shivers down my spine.

The lyricism here is deeply poetic and layered with meaning, and the vast majority is spoken, rather than sung. The album also feels conceptually sound,⁴ delving deep into the concept of perversion, specifically circling around the ideas of masturbation and shame through a puritanical lens shaped by her Baptist upbringing. There are, seriously, a lot of threads to pull at when combing through her lyrics, even though this isn’t meant to be part of her primary project.

I have to confess that I find the three longest tracks (“Pulldrone” at 15:14, “Housofpsychoticwomn” at 13:35, and title track “Perverts” at 12:04) to be a bit insufferable. They combine to be basically half of the album’s length, which still leaves the remainder at a good length for an LP.

And there are a lot of great moments on the rest of the album. It’s definitely nothing like a standard album, but there’s good music here (especially for an experimental album…).

If you want to try this album out, I would recommend beginning with “Punish” — it’ll help you ease into it — before playing the album straight through.

I confess I do like the album more now than I did after my initial listen. There’s worse stuff out there; this ain’t bad, and I think it clears a 6.5 at the minimum.

Rating: Green

1. Not only is this a great name for a fanbase, but I have to note that the fanbase came through for Cain and got this oddball record charted. Daughters of Cain is also the name of Cain’s independent label, which is currently an imprint affiliated with Prescription Songs.

2. I initially thought the concept was meant to track the life of the protagonist, but the comments I’ve read indicate that the static figure is the titular Preacher, with the albums examining his relationships with the various women in his life.

3. Allow me to make up for this: Luke is a shitty producer who pushes vapid, brainless music with the most blatantly formulaic and obnoxious hooks imaginable, and he’s an even worse human being — a rapey shitstain whose name should be followed by spitting any time it’s said.

4. Cain teased the thematic elements of Perverts with the release of a short story called “The Consequence of Audience” late last year.