Ethel Cain brought intimacy, tenderness and the saccharine sweet violence of the south to Brighton Music Hall this past Friday.
A cacophony of funeral marchers, churchgoers and wedding guests strided into Brighton Music Hall this past Friday to attend the service of Ethel Cain. Dresses of long, flowing white lace grazed against ankles coated in black-and-gray tattoos. Heads adorned with delicate braids turned to face lips pierced with thick metal. The southern gothic songstress visited Boston on the sixth stop of her “Freezer Bride Tour,” welcoming all those who wished to immerse themselves in the tale of a corrupt preacher’s daughter.
Dark, ambient instrumentals accompanied by a holy, pale glow cast onto the stage preluded Cain’s entrance. The 24-year-old Florida native graciously walked on stage in black shorts, a red Marlboro hat and a shirt adorned with an interpolation of Gunter’s Clover Honey bear – covered in Cain’s own tattoos and given to her from a supporter in the crowd.
The second Cain’s hands pushed the curtain eclipsing her aside, stepped onto the holy light that enveloped her and allowed a smile to creep across her face as she grasped the microphone – the crowd awoke with fervor. Cain opened with “dust bowl (demo),” one of two songs from the setlist not on her debut album, “Preacher’s Daughter.” The slowcore track – paralleling all of Cain’s discography – is structured in powerful, storytelling bones accompanied by gentle instrumentals and haunting reverb. The track remains unreleased, yet was confirmed by Cain in a Reddit AMA that it will be part of the awaited “Preacher’s Daughter” b-sides album.Â
The love and mutual gratefulness in the room was tangible before Cain could even launch into her second song of the night. Affectionate chants of nicknames such as “Meemaw” and “Mother!” rang from the crowd, peppered in between the dozens of “I love you”s that Cain received, and uttered back a trifold. Cain came to her supporters as a nurturing figure, as a friend that could be approached and give her all to those that care for her. This was evident not only in the joy that washed over the crowd that night, but also in Cain’s face as she could not stop smiling in between each song – despite the sullen subject matter transcending most of her discography.
Launching into one of her most upbeat and successful releases, “American Teenager,” the atmosphere of the venue was completely transformed into a dream-pop cosmo where each listener could reflect with nostalgia on their own upbringing.
Cain walked down from the stage, standing in the barricade merely inches from the crowd and crooning the heartbreaking tale of “A House in Nebraska,” as many of the self-coined “daughters of Cain” eagerly screamed the lyrics back to her. There was a certain intimacy in Cain’s performance – as if with every audience member’s hand that she held, she was giving a piece of herself.Â
Ethel Cain is the brainchild of Hayden Silas Anhedönia, formerly known as White Silas. Through the persona of Cain and “Preacher’s Daughter,” Anhedönia paints the narrative of a great American epic which begins in 1991 – years after the death of Cain’s father who was the town preacher. The album follows Cain through her experiences in womanhood, submissiveness, religion, generational trauma, substance abuse and death. Through a fictitious character, Anhedönia gives us terrifyingly tactile pieces of our own realities.
Slowcore, alt-rock, dream pop, folk and bits of shoegaze all melt together to form Anhedönia’s own distinctive sound. Yet, in the depths of her discography we can always hear the ever beating heart of Sunday morning. Anhedönia’s religious upbringing makes room for gospel inspired choruses and haunting hymns.
“These crosses all over my body / remind me of who I used to be,” sings Cain on “Family Tree,” as an audience member screams out “take me to church!” Cain stooped down to eye level with the crowd as she sang her fourth track of the night, unraveling the corruption of religion, and how it can penetrate familial values.Â
“Hard Times,” built to the heavy atmosphere, with much of the crowd looking to one another to make sure those next to them were just as teary eyed. Cain employs the saccharine sweet violence of the south to carry her listeners through strenuous subject matters. Shortly after reducing the entire venue to tears, Cain burst the sorrowful weight of her own performance, and asked the crowd to help wish her manager and friend, Marlee, a happy birthday.
Perhaps Cain’s most traditional, most country all-American ditty fluttered through the crowd, with the crowd swaying along to “Thoroughfare.”
When one examines Cain’s discography, it is near impossible to differentiate one track that holds weight above others. The consistency in quality paralleling the variation in sound across her bodies of work allow each individual song to radiate alone. Yet, to choose a single lyric that could epitomize “Preacher’s Daughter,” is much easier to do. “God loves you / but not enough to save you,” the crowd echoed on “Sun Bleached Flies,” the ethereal, forgiving track about breaking free from a cycle of abuse.
Cain concluded her set with the second song not from her debut album. “Crush,” which was released in 2021 as the second track of her project, “Inbred,” has strong pop influence – especially in its chorus.
Cain briefly left the stage, and re-entered performing “Strangers” as her encore. The slightly morbid finisher of “Preacher’s Daughter” was performed acapella – ending the night on a note of togetherness and harmony.