Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter
- Thread starter Jonathan27
- Start date
Nn this withe the subject matter scream
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Yeah it’s been viral on TikTok since like November dd
Bestie I'm with you, I am obsessed with these simmering waltzes towards doom she has just sitting on her hard drive. She folds gut punch lyrics into the songs like it's nothing, and I end up bowled over after like 10+ plays. Age of Delilah is a little more hopeful but had that same effect with its bridge(?):
20 til midnight at gas stations
Praying to a stranger's dogs in the parking lot
I asked have I done enough for salvation
They said you'll die if you leave it up to God
Said I've been drinking from this river til I bled it dry
But they looked me dead in my eyes and said
It doesn't matter if the grass is greener on the other side
As long as it's alive
Those little synth flourishes make me think she could do soft synthwave and I'd be here for every glorious moment.
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I don't know if Ethel as a character is canonically trans? Unless Hayden has said otherwise and I didn't catch it (Edit: she did). The album is informed by similar feelings and experiences Hayden had growing up in a similar environment, but the story told across those tracks is largely an entirely different beast if that makes sense. But I think anyone can have their own interpretations. If you're after what the song is about in context of the album these posts from Hayden sort of give an outline.
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He/They
I feel this and Strangers is separate from the story of the album, but I might just be getting it wrong
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Oh. Yeah, they are very much part of the same story. "Strangers" is specifically about
Isaiah storing Ethel in his freezer after killing her and then cannibalizing her, followed by her body giving him food poisoning (“how funny, I never considered myself tough”, "am I making you feel sick?"). It's a very dark and funny end to her story.
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The way I've always interpreted it is that Sun Bleached Flies is the "actual" end of the story and Strangers is basically the end credits (with that last verse being the post-credits scene/epilogue)
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Same. Very Jennifer’s Body where she meets the band during the credits and we only see images of it all going down.
I think she's woven her own experiences into the character of Ethel to some degree, I believe she said in an interview that she gave herself the 'god loves you but not enough to save you' tattoo after some sort of pivotal moment but I think she's left it deliberately ambiguous, justifiably by the sound of it.
It's interesting how she's returned to little details/references across her songs as far back as the Carpet Bed EP (and probably White Silas but she's obliterated that work from streaming): she references drowning herself on Head in the Wall and brings up being questioned about suffocating on Age of Delilah. She also seems to circle back to a specific scenario between Growing Pains and Western Nights obliquely.
Basically all this to say if/when we do get something cinematic that is more long form from her I'm intrigued how she'll paint the world. She's already built such a vivid landscape with these characters from a relatively small body of work.
It's interesting how she's returned to little details/references across her songs as far back as the Carpet Bed EP (and probably White Silas but she's obliterated that work from streaming): she references drowning herself on Head in the Wall and brings up being questioned about suffocating on Age of Delilah. She also seems to circle back to a specific scenario between Growing Pains and Western Nights obliquely.
Basically all this to say if/when we do get something cinematic that is more long form from her I'm intrigued how she'll paint the world. She's already built such a vivid landscape with these characters from a relatively small body of work.
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This is a huge reason why I'm looking forward to the book(s) she's writing to go along with the album trilogy - so many of these characters feel so clearly defined already, and I'm really curious how and what she's going to add to their stories
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Apparently it's Prescription's fault (shocking nobody) - she tweeted a design for one the other night and said "they won't let me release it unless they take more of my money"
Okay Verona is beautiful I really edged myself by holding out on Ethel's unreleased shit but I'm glad to be diving into it now. She is serving bumpkin-relatable aesthetic as usual in the still on the video.
I'm sure most of you guys have heard this but I don't think I've been this bullish on a new artist in a long time.
I'm sure most of you guys have heard this but I don't think I've been this bullish on a new artist in a long time.
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