This past Wednesday, Jan. 8, singer/songwriter Ethel Cain released her fourth studio album, “Perverts.” The newest album from Cain quickly became an online sensation, with much contention as to how it compared to the singer’s previous studio albums. The main reason for this debate emerges from the ambient, droning sounds that accompany most of “Perverts.” It is certainly different compared to Cain’s other work, which relies heavily on lyrical storytelling. Her prior album, released in 2022 and titled “Preacher’s Daughter,” was a concept album focusing on the abduction and murder of “Ethel Cain,” which is actually the artist’s stage name. Cain is simply a character that Hayden Anhedönia has constructed over the past several years and performs as.  

Many fans and listeners of Cain were quick to point out the stark difference between “Preacher’s Daughter” and “Perverts,” mostly citing the lack of lyrics in the latter. Frequent critiques of “Perverts” were that the songs featured sounded like “15 minutes of white noise” or “ASMR,” which highlights the sheer length of many of the tracks as well. The longest, titled “Pulldrone,” comes in at a whopping 15 minutes and 14 seconds long. Similarly, most other tracks average between eight to 12 minutes. But these critiques ignore that there is certainly explicit lyrical storytelling present in “Perverts.” While lyrics do not appear as frequently as they did in the tracks on “Preacher’s Daughter,” they still serve as the foundation that many of the songs are built upon. These include “Amber Waves,” “Vacillator” and “Onanist.” Also, it should be mentioned that Cain herself stated in multiple posts on her Instagram that “Perverts” was going to be a much more ambient-sounding album and contrast to “Preacher’s Daughter.” Cain was explicitly truthful about the differences in this project from its original announcement back in September.   

Others noted that while “Preacher’s Daughter” was so explicitly a concept album focusing on the life and death of Ethel Cain, “Perverts” did not seem to follow the same linear fashion of storytelling. These critiques ignore the fact that “Perverts” largely established the setting of Ethel Cain’s story, originally presented in “Preacher’s Daughter.” Much of the ambient sounds used on the tracks in “Perverts” come from radio static, windmills, box fans, sounds of cars passing by on a highway, transformer boxes on power lines and so on. This was stated by Cain via a post on her Instagram on Jan. 8, in which she cites her inspiration coming from these noises. All of these sounds fit into the Southern Gothic and religious imagery that Ethel Cain’s story is constructed around. Cain herself has also stated that the conception of this album began after she visited an old, abandoned power plant in Pennsylvania. She further stated that she would continually visit the old power plant while working on the upcoming album. The entirety of “Perverts” is constructed in a centralized place/setting that fits well into the lore Cain has constructed over the past several years of her working as an artist.  

An opposing group of Cain fans have claimed (mostly online) that the release of “Perverts” serves as a method to “weed out” the fake fans of Cain who only appreciate her more mainstream tracks such as “American teenager” or “Crush.” While I, as an occasionally spiteful, longtime fan of Cain do mildly delight in the idea of a superficial fan listening to “Perverts” in horror, I do not believe this was Cains’ intention at all. I believe the catalyst for Cain to create “Perverts” was simply a deep-seated desire to create art. As a musician Cain has historically challenged herself to grow and create new sounds with each passing album. This is evident in the instrumental differences between Cain’s earlier albums and EPs such as “Inbred” and “Carpet Bed.”

Simply put, “Perverts” as an album does indeed sound different from “Preacher’s Daughter” and earlier Cain works. This is primarily due to the fact that Cain has historically challenged herself as an artist and grown as a musician. While “Perverts” may not be for everyone, it is still an exemplary example of Cain’s genius musical and storytelling abilities. Personally, I will be wandering through the nearest cemetery streaming “Perverts” sometime in the near future.