Ethel Cain finally announces sophomore album, Perverts

Two years after Ethel Cain’s debut album, Preacher’s Daughter, mesmerized the indie world (and Barack Obama) with its tale of religious trauma, kidnapping, and cannibalism, the enigmatic artist is back for seconds. After teasing the project on Instagram all week with grainy, black-and-white photos captioned with words like “Apathy” “Disruption,” and “Assimilation,” Cain finally announced her sophomore record, Perverts, in a new post today. The lead single, Punish, arrives November 1. The album will be released in full on January 8, which feels like a perfect, chilly time to debut what will presumably be a pretty dark collection of songs.

 

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• Listen to Ethel Cain cover American Football's "For Sure"

As of this writing, Cain has not confirmed whether Perverts will extend the story told in Preacher’s Daughter or stand alone. While there isn’t much more information on the album yet, she did preview “Punish” at New York City’s All Things Go festival last month. The slowcore ballad, which sees Cain repeat the line “I am punished by love” over a grungy bass riff, is much more “Family Tree” than “American Teenager.” It’s an exciting direction for an artist who has consistently defied genre and continues to provide an entirely unique sound to the general indie landscape. 

Speaking of going back to her roots, Cain recently got to share the stage with emo darlings American Football, who she said “inspired me in more ways than I can count over the years” in a statement. In September, she released a nearly 10-minute-long cover of the band’s classic track “For Sure” as part of a collaborative cover album celebrating the 25th anniversary of their self-titled record (a.k.a. LP1—the one with the house on it). “Ethel Cain has somehow made me like this track even more than I already did,” American Football’s Steve Lamos said of Cain’s version. You can watch the artists perform together below:

ethel cain joining american football on stage last night pic.twitter.com/9kZfiKQvcW

— voskat (@voskat55) October 14, 2024