Perverts is the upcoming studio recording by American singer-songwriter and record producer Ethel Cain. It is set to be released on January 8, 2025, and will mark her first release since her 2022 album Preacher's Daughter. The lead single "Punish" preceded the project on November 1, 2024.
Background
Ethel Cain released her debut studio album Preacher's Daughter in 2022, to critical acclaim.[1][2][3] It centered on the fictional character of the same name, and contained Southern Gothic imagery and themes including religious indoctrination, sexual violence, isolation, and family trauma.[4] Following its release, the album was included in several year-end lists of best music and she garnered a cult following online.[5]
Speaking with Kiernan Shipka for Interview in June 2023, Cain expressed her excitement to "push it farther into the direction that [she has] always wanted to go" on her next full-length release, which is "10- to 20-minute songs just drenched in reverb, so slow, and super repetitive".[6] She continued: "I have a huge affinity for slowcore and ambient music [...] I feel a bit more confident doing that and less worried about what people will think".[7]
In 2024, Cain debuted various songs at her third concert tour, the Childish Behaviour Tour, including "Punish" and "Amber Waves".[2][8][9][10] In parallel, she published a video with a snippet of new music and clips from the 1990 British-Canadian horror filmThe Reflecting Skin.[11][12] Following the end of the tour, Cain teased music on social media in October, by sharing grainy and black-and-white photos captioned with words including "Apathy", "Disruption", and "Assimilation".[13][14]
As confirmed by NME in November 2024, Perverts is a standalone work and does not follow the story of Preacher's Daughter centered on the fictional character Ethel Cain.[16] Prior to its release, Cain teased the themes of Perverts by publishing a short story titled "The Consequence of Audience".[17]
Release and promotion
The release of Perverts was announced on Cain's official Instagram account on October 14, 2024.[14] The lead single from the project, titled "Punish", was released on November 1, 2024, alongside a music video directed by Cain and Silken Weinberg.[18] On November 11, 2024, Cain revealed the track listing for Perverts.[19]