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Ethel Cain: Perverts review – pink noise and punishment as cult star heads underground
(Daughters of Cain)Having struggled with the obsessive fandom drawn to her widescreen pop-Americana, Cain returns with 90 minutes of collapsing songs and confrontational power electronics
She was, in theory, riding high on the critical success of her self-released debut album, Preacher’s Daughter, and the cult following that sprung up in its wake, entranced by its macabre lyrics, drifting, gothy sound – Lana Del Rey if she had ameliorated her latest bad-boyfriend woes by listening to the Cocteau Twins and sundry shoegazing bands – and Anhedönia’s strikingly unfiltered image. The first, including single Punish and closer Amber Waves, feel like the music on Preacher’s Daughter falling to pieces, their sound muffled and lo-fi, their structure stripped back to simple piano figures that repeat for the entirety of the song, their tempo slowed to an agonising crawl. It goes without saying that you don’t settle down to review the new release by an artist last spotted in the UK on a London day festival bill majoring in bedroom pop – with Mitski, Beabadoobee and TV Girl among its teen-friendly delights – expecting to mention the early 80s post-industrial underground.
Or read this on The Guardian