January 27, 2025 by Elias Prodger (‘26)
Nothing excites me in the music industry as much as when an artist does something unbelievably strange. There’s something so intrinsically special about an artist that finds the courage to subvert expectations and create something so left-field and experimental to a listener’s ear. 2025 has started with an absolute surprise by dream pop, singer songwriter Ethel Cain.
Ethel Cain’s prominence begins in the earliest years of the current decade with her album Preacher’s Daughter. The album featured the song “American Teenager,” one of the most classic and popular indie pop songs of the decade so far that can be found on many public Spotify playlists. Cain fused together the fundamentals of a typical singer-songwriter with dreamy, lush instrumentation and a hint of gothic country influence. Cain didn’t look to shy away from any kind of sonic instrumentation or strange timbres, but this album truly takes that idea to a new level.
Cain released her new EP Perverts a week into 2025 with confused and mixed reactions. Cain strips away much of her classic songwriting in exchange for dark and eerie ambient drones. The album turns to a post rock influenced, 90-minute-long atmospheric experience that feels less like a cohesive album but more like an installment in an art museum. The sounds of the synthesizers and guitars are enveloping and somewhat meditative in their drone.
Cain enters the long history of artists following a breakout record with music that often alienates their audience and shys away from accessibility. The 1990’s saw Nirvana’s In Utero and Radiohead’s Kid A, two records that saw bands changing their production and sound to distance themselves from their newfound fame. In modern times, Kenderick Lamar followed his commercial peak with Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, an expansive double album that commented on various modern issues through substance and art without a regard for aiming for a top 10 hit.
The streaming era can often homogenize artistic pursuits. Artists are incentivized to create art that parallels current trends or past successes because that is the safest way to guarantee profit for the artist and the music label. This era has made it as exciting as ever to see a prominent artist create something out of the box and experimental. The average Ethel Cain fan will not enjoy Perverts and will feel disappointed and estranged. However, any music fan interested in experimentation or something outside of their comfort zone should take the time to indulge themselves in this record.
Photo source: publicrecords.com