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The sound of self-loathing
EWAN KOTZ tunes into a chilling and subversive album that speaks for a splintered US, its political apathy and complicity in war-crimes
Ethel Cain performing at Gunnersbury Park in London, August 2023
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Perverts
Ethel Cain
(Daughters of Cain)
PERVERTS is not an album. Or, at least, that’s what Floridian singer-songwriter Ethel Cain (Hayden Anhedonia) claims of her latest studio effort — despite its 90-minute runtime. Perhaps this is to distance it from the notably more accessible indie rock that has garnered her a cult following.
Here, Cain swaps breezy guitars for unnerving industrial ambience. Perverts is no easy listen — and in no way is this unintentional. Cain’s disillusionment with a fast-growing fanbase has long-indicated a desire to subvert expectations and experiment with underground influences.
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