Perverts: Ethel Cain Goes Ambient.

I’d like to think that I can relate to Hayden Anhedönia: We’re both autistic queer women, we’re both active Tumblr users in the year 2025, and we both love drone music. She’s been releasing drone and dark ambient music under the moniker ashmedai for a few years now, but her more popular project is undoubtedly Ethel Cain. Half fictional woman, half regular old stage name, Cain seems to have taken on a life of her own in the cultural zeitgeist.

Her image calls to mind Pinterest images of southern churches and dark farmhouses, desolate spaces with a decidedly feminine presence in the form of Ethel herself: a striking brunette usually depicted in white farm dresses or practical overalls. This aesthetic has been co-opted by the coquette crowd in yet another example of artists becoming shorthand for online aesthetic movements. However, Cain’s newest project stands out as a direct rejection of this phenomenon and may be better for it.

The opening title track of Perverts pulls no punches, immediately dragging you into a headspace of utter fear and dread. The listener is not meant to feel comfortable, because the song was never meant for them. The song’s narrator is engaged in a private prayer, singing, “E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me / Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee.” The fusion of a classic church hymn with Anhedönia’s dark, paralyzing sound design is something special, and to start a record with a track this good speaks to her strength as an artist.

I can assure readers that the album stays quality throughout its runtime, so give it a listen to start off 2025!