Ethel Cain
is a singer-songwriter who broke through a few years ago on the back of Preacher's Daughter, her lengthy debut album. The record trafficked in a Southern Gothic style that often reached harrowing climaxes and featured lyrical content darker than many of her contemporaries, yet Cain managed to become a breakout star on the back of the record regardless. Now 3 years later she's back with a sophomore album that seems deliberately designed to leave much of that audience behind. Trading out her more conventional styles of songwriting and production form a grueling droning 90-minute follow-up that will put anyone's commitment to her style to the test.
The first taste of the controversy that would eventually befall this record came on its lead single "Punish." I liked the song, though I wasn't head over heels for its format as a long, plodding durge with dreary vocals singing creaky refrains. It's better within the context of the album where the song suddenly doesn't feel so indulgent anymore. The only other song on the album that's as accessible is "Vacillator" one of my favorites. I love the long drawn-out drum intro that barely crackles with its distant lo-fi presentation. The lyrics on the track feel like a return to some of the more evocative and darkly toxic erotica of Preacher's Daughter and it maintains the brooding demeanor of much of the record while doing it.
Unfortunately, many of the other shorter, relatively speaking of course, songs on the record don't quite hit me the same. "Thatorchia" is a pretty forgettable instrumental that unfortunately comes at a time on the album where patience is stretched its thinnest. "Onanist" approaches a more straightforward style following a long key intro but it doesn't manage to deliver the kinds of refrains or lyrics that grabbed me on other tracks. And finally there's "Etienne" which devotes most of its runtime to building up a piano instrumental that is just fine. Thankfully it does manage to end on a great moment with the eerie but perfectly placed story about a man accidentally overcoming suicidal ideation by attempting to commit suicide.
At this point, I'd like to reiterate that this album is LONG. Despite being just 9 tracks, it's runtime is a full 90 minutes and a big reason for that is 4 massive tracks that span well over 10 minutes. I'll skip right to the best of the bunch, closing track "Amber Waves." It features by far the clearest presentation of vocals on the album and they literally sound like the sun shining through the darkness. Even though it's still presented in a dreary demeanor that unfolds in slow motion, it's a major change of pace that serves as a delightful surprise to emerge right at the conclusion of the album.
"Amber Waves" uses its runtime very well, but the other 3 tracks put me in a slightly more difficult spot as a critic. Despite things I enjoy a lot about each of them, the collective time they add up to and the indulgence they put onto this record can be quite a lot to overcome. Take the opener and title track "Perverts" which gets things started in haunting fashion with these horror movie-sounding and eventual lyrical themes reminiscent of biblical punishment. It eventually transitions into a low rumble drone that seems deliberately placed so early on the album as a sort of "turn back now" for lost Boygenius fans giving the record a shot.
"Houseofpsychoticwomn" is most notable fo this circular hypnotic hum that oscillates around the songs space for much of the runtime feeling like a tightly calculated wind stirring up a hurricane. There is more than meets the eye at first on the lyrical front, but it's all drowned in the methodical repetition of "I do" and "I love you." Finally there's "Pulldrone," the longest song on the record. It begins with a spoken word passage that's a pretty interesting series of principles. Ethel lists off 12 ideas and briefly expands on their original and purpose to her prophetic project. From there the song get into a metallic tinney drone that lasts longer than I think is really necessary, but is interesting to sink into.
Talking about Perverts is easy, it has a LOT of interesting touchpoints both sonically and lyrically. But listening to the album is a different story. In its push for a seemingly deliberate obscuring of the elements of Ethel Cain's sound that had become the most recognizable, it also creates a sonic slog that often overstays its welcome. As someone who loves drone and has positively reviewed far quieter, slower, and more indulgent records in the past, I can pretty confidently say that Perverts manages to be engaging out of the gate over and over again. But it just as often spends too much time wallowing in vacuums that feel less like an exploration of nuance and more like an attempt to reach the essay's word count. 6/10
For more experimental music, check out my review of Pharmakon's Maggot Mass here
