Going in to Ethel Cain’s sophomore release Perverts(following 2022s Preacher’s Daughter) I really had no idea what to expect. I know that she came from a very religious family in Florida, and that she was homeschooled. And her dad was a deacon at their Baptist church. When you grow up in a highly religious household and are homeschooled to boot, one of two things seem to happen. One, you continue that path and your worldview is limited by the landscape outside the church window; two, you’re inner fire is lit by something outside that narrow view and you fight against it.
Ethel Cain has chosen the latter. Or maybe it chose her.
Preacher’s Daughter was for the most part a singer/songwriter record. Bits of folk pop, shoegaze, and dream pop coalesced with southern gothic motifs and gorgeous piano balladry. It felt like a primer for a huge sophomore album that would change her trajectory. Though, it did hint at much darker avenues with ambient touches and long(er) songs.
Perverts throws all of that out the window. Instead of a Waxahatchee or Weyes Blood career turn, Cain gives us nearly 90 minutes of darkness and drone that’s more Grouper and The Haxan Cloak than America’s next great musical artist.
Most people that were pulled in with Cain’s debut are probably in for a shock. This is nothing like the first album. Like, 180 degrees from it. Perverts will not get people excited. Possibly creeped out, and scared. And you know what? I have a lot of respect for Ethel Cain for making this detour into dark ambient. I’m not sure my psyche can take the full 90 minutes in one sitting, but in chunks I think it works really well.
Amidst the Count Orlok love bangers, there are some actual “song” songs. “Punish” is a somber track that aches in melancholy echoes with Cain’s distant, dusty vocal and Reznor-approved piano. A true Goth ballad. “Vacillator” is a slowcore come hither slow jam for the apocalypse. It’s sparse and rickety like some ancient carnival ride that beckons you to step aboard. Even title track “Perverts” opens with vocals, albeit sounding like some field recording from 1916. Though eventually it all falls into an abyss of industrial noise and hiss.
Tracks like “Pulldrone” and “Houseofpsychoticwomn” fall into lulling discontentment with 15 minute runtimes and no melody to find. Just white noise. Closer “Amber Waves” gifts those with patience as it ends in truly beautiful vocal and piano.
File Perverts under “Not For Everyone”. But those that connect will find much to love and disassociate to.
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