Southern Gothic maven and singer-songwriter Ethel Cain released her new song “Punish” on Nov. 1, the lead single for her upcoming album, “Perverts,” which is set to release Jan. 8. While fans were first introduced to the song last summer at Le Trianon and further familiarized with it on her Childish Behaviour tour, Nov. 1 marked the song’s official release on streaming platforms.
Since her 2022 breakthrough studio album “Preacher’s Daughter,” Cain, whose legal name is Hayden Silas Anhedönia, has captivated the musical world with her signature moody, evocative lyrics. She artfully pairs these lyrics with distinctive evangelical iconography-laden visuals that are reminiscent of her sheltered upbringing in Perry, Florida, as a Southern Baptist.
“Punish” — which opens with somber, eerie creaking noises — continues to lean into Anhedönia’s established niche. The video, directed by Anhedönia and Silken Weinberg, includes black-and-white footage of a visually obscured, ghostly Anhedönia clad in old-fashioned clothes, haunting a seemingly abandoned home, furnished with lace curtains and a vintage wood-burning stove. About halfway through the nearly seven-minute song, the visuals seem to sharpen as a guitar reverberates through the audio, culminating in a sound bath of angst and melancholy. This intensity eventually tapers back off into subtlety as ringlike visuals ebb across the screen.
While “Perverts” maintains the brooding aesthetic Anhedönia established in “Preacher’s Daughter,” the grisly tale of Cain has run its course. As a standalone project, “Perverts” continues to explore themes of twisted love, particularly shame in the track “Punish.”
“I wonder how deep shame can run and how unforgivable an act could be that I may still justify it in some bent way to make carrying it more bearable,” Cain said in a press release. “Would I tell myself it’s not my fault and I couldn’t help myself? Would anyone truly believe that? Would I?”
Anhedönia developed “Perverts” over the last year in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, and Tallahassee, Florida. While some fans were shocked by its scandalous title, hesitating to wear merchandise emblazoned with the word “perverts,” others proudly champion it as a celebration of Anhedönia’s intentional artistry.
Anhedönia’s musical and Southern Baptist roots run deep; she was raised by her father, a deacon, and her mother, whom she sang in her church choir with. During a period of self-discovery, Anhedönia discovered a world of music on the internet, came out as gay at 12, left the church at 16, pursued songwriting and came out as transgender at 20. Now, at 26 years old, Anhedönia considers herself to be spiritual rather than Christian and creates music that resonates with other Southern kids discovering their identities.
For those unfamiliar with Anhedönia’s haunting world, it is easy to misconstrue the artist, Anhedönia and the character, Cain, as one and the same. However, while their histories and identities are closely intertwined, Cain is a character that Anhedönia constructed to tell a dramatized story loosely inspired by her own life.
Through each haunting track — ranging from more upbeat, danceable songs like “American Teenager” to the raw and terrifying “Ptolemaea” — “Preacher’s Daughter” chronicles Cain’s journey as she endures childhood trauma, flees her small town in Alabama, falls for a man who eventually kills and cannibalizes her and ascends into heaven. This album acts as a cautionary tale, exploring themes of familial trauma and abusive relationships.
“I weave in and out of Ethel,” Cain said in an interview with Vogue. “I don’t ever want to be so corny to the point of saying, like, ‘I have a persona that possesses me’ and whatnot, even though I do say that. It’s more just having a different mindset and adopting this character. It’s just like acting or telling someone else’s story from their perspective — even when I’m writing the book, it’s about getting into the headspace of this character that has a different set of memories and a different life and story than I do.”
Anhedönia’s rise to stardom has been unconventional. Rather than basing herself in the heart of Hollywood, the singer-songwriter prefers to inhabit more remote areas like the ones that inspire her work. The originality of her sound and her otherworldly aesthetic has entranced audiences beyond the music industry, transfixing even the mainstream worlds of fashion and politics. This is a true testament to Anhedönia’s authenticity and commitment to tell stories that only she could tell, unflinchingly.
Tessa Kang is an Arts & Entertainment intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at tokang@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn and Jaheem Conley
