Ethel Cain released Perverts, a 90-minute project pointedly not referred to as her sophomore album in press releases, on Wednesday, and is earning rave reviews from music critics.
The non-album is polarizing (and scaring the shit out of) fans, however. Unlike Preacher’s Daughter, the 2022 debut that put Cain on the map, Perverts is more a collection of experimental ambient soundscapes than songs with words and music, an evolution of what was originally conceived as a character study about different forms of perversion. (It also has nothing to do with the Ethel Cain lore/storyline.)
[Review]
REVIEW: Ethel Cain’s mighty new project ‘Perverts’ is brutal, unrelenting, and beautifully cathartic – https://t.co/pY6zBgATIL pic.twitter.com/NR2oEw3uYl
— CLASH (@ClashMagazine) January 7, 2025
“As ambient as [Perverts] might be, it’s far from background music… give it ninety minutes, a nice pair of headphones, and all your attention. If you do, it will rewire your brain.” ★★★★ —The Line of Best Fit
[Review]
Incomprehensible, scary, challenging and brilliant – Ethel Cain’s second album Perverts reviewed >>> https://t.co/23tlZQLu4J pic.twitter.com/vviH35rDpd
— THE LINE of BEST FIT (@bestfitmusic) January 6, 2025
“What may sound like a bowel-rattling drone to one may lead to a transcendent experience in others. Casual fans may not last even three minutes. But for those who are willing to sit with its discomfort, [it] reveals hidden depths–the same way that eyes need time to adjust to low light.” ★★★★ —NME
[Review]
Ethel Cain’s first project since the critically acclaimed ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ is no easy listen, but persisting through its bleak layers brings plenty of rewards. Read NME’s ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review of ‘Perverts’, out January 8: https://t.co/0ZOZvSW7O4
— NME (@NME) January 6, 2025
“Like Preacher’s Daughter, Perverts is a moving character portrait. This time, though, Cain’s protagonist finds peace and quiet not in literal death, but in the death of love.” ★★★★ —Slant
[Review]
With #Perverts, Ethel Cain finds peace and quiet not in literal death, but in the death of love. Read our review! https://t.co/ksgP810jfT
— Slant (@Slant_Magazine) January 6, 2025
“There’s no side-stepping the message that if you want to follow Anhedönia into the darkness, you can’t be afraid of what lurks there.” ★★★★★ —Stereogum
[Review]
Ethel Cain’s ‘Perverts’ is our Album Of The Week https://t.co/jEYTsABsBn
— Stereogum (@stereogum) January 7, 2025
This afternoon, Cain released the music video for the project’s fourth track (and one of its three more traditional “songs”), “Vacillator,” co-directed with Silken Weinberg.
