Ethel Cain’s America 53

Written by Juliane Pautrot Layout by Hailey Pryor

Ethel Cain is dead and Preacher’s Daughter is her story. Hailing from a Baptist town in Florida, Hayden Silas Anhedönia pieces together her life experiences to create the fictional character of Ethel Cain—under whose name she sings and performs as. Released in May 2022, the album Preacher’s Daughter tells the sorrowful story of Cain’s life. The thirteen-song work depicts garish horrors from Cain’s past— all sung in Anhedönia’s gentle voice. Most songs are over five minutes long, beginning as delicate ballads and morphing into screaming guitar solos.

A striking theme on this album is Anhedönia’s obsession with southern Americana. Songs like “American Teenager” and “House in Nebraska” explore the vastness of physical space in middle and southern America. Open and empty fields, suffocatingly small towns, and unkempt motels—Anhedönia lets loneliness and melancholy fill these empty spaces. These places are almost never depicted glamorously, but Anhedönia shows how alluring and romantic these eerie parts of America can be. While the vastness of America allows Cain to roam freely, she still has roots binding her to her past, as explored in the song, “Family Tree.” Anhedönia alludes to the abuse, religious trauma, and homophobia Cain grew up around, with the songs, “Hard Times” and “Sun Bleached Flies,” addressing them directly. Likening her pain to tattoos, tree roots, and blood coursing through your veins, Anhedönia sings of the impossibility of escaping intergenerational trauma. These traumas follow Cain in love, with “Western Nights” and “Gibson Girl” depicting Cain’s rocky relationships with troubled lovers. One of the lovers kills her and eats her body, bringing the album to a grandiose close with the song, “Strangers.” Preacher’s Daughter is an epic exploration of pain, love, family, and Americana. The tortured character of Ethel Cain is unforgettable, and this haunting album keeps her and her voice alive.