Earlier this month, Ethel Cain announced her new album, Perverts, the follow-up to Preacher’s Daughter, coming January 8, 2025. Tonight, she releases the lead single, “Punish,” along with its music video. The indie singer wrote the song as she wondered “how deep shame can run, and how unforgivable an act could be that I may still justify it in some bent way to make carrying it more bearable. Would I tell myself it’s not my fault and I couldn’t help myself? Would anyone truly believe that? Would I?”
Cain has become one of indie music’s most coveted voices in the past two years, with Preacher’s Daughter earning widespread acclaim from music critics and earning her a cult following of fans. In 2023, she promised its follow-up would contain “10- to 20-minute songs just drenched in reverb, so slow, and super repetitive,” inspired by her “affinity for slowcore and ambient music.”
In recent months, though, she’s expanded her sound and tested out homages to some of her musical influences. In September, she paid homage to American Football with a cover of their song “For Sure,” saying, “Their sonic storytelling has inspired me in more ways than I can count over the years, so being asked to contribute to this covers edition was truly an honor.”
You can watch the “Punish” video above.
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