Hayden Silas Anhedönia (born March 24, 1998), known professionally as Ethel Cain,[a] is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and model. Inspired by Christian music and Gregorian chant, she is noted for her lyrics focused on nostalgic and Southern Gothic themes, while her music has been associated with the ambient, indie rock, and contemporary folk genres.
Cain released multiple projects digitally under various aliases, before officially starting her main project in mid-2019 and releasing three EPs. In 2022, Cain released her debut studio album titled Preacher's Daughter, to widespread acclaim from music critics—many of whom called it one of the best albums of the year. Following its release, she garnered a cult following online. Her second album Perverts will be released on January 8, 2025.
Early life
Anhedönia was born on March 24, 1998, in Tallahassee, Florida, and was raised in Perry.[1] She is the eldest of four children in a Southern Baptist family.[2] Her father was a deacon, and she was involved in the church choir from a young age, like her mother.[2][3] At age 8, Anhedönia began studying classical piano, with musical influences from a variety of Christian music. The church was Anhedönia's first exposure to music: "My whole life was always singing, always, always music all the time," Anhedönia said.[3] She left the church at the age of 16.[2] Anhedönia was homeschooled her entire life.[4]
Career
2017–2021: Career beginnings and EPs
Anhedönia officially started making music in 2017, experimenting with "dreamy bedroom pop demos."[5] Her first extended play under the Ethel Cain moniker, Carpet Bed, consisting of four songs, was released on September 13, 2019.[6] Months later, she released her second extended play, Golden Age, on December 1.[4] After the latter's release, she was backed by artist Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, who praised Cain for her "mature songwriting and understanding of melody".[7] In January 2020, after recommendation from Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Cain was discovered by rapper Lil Aaron while headlining a show with Edith Underground, Girlfiend, and Lil Bo Weep in Los Angeles. Cain was then invited by Aaron to meet with the publishing company Prescription Songs and signed with them soon after.[8]
In February 2021, Anhedönia released her first single as Ethel Cain and under the new publishing contract, titled "Michelle Pfeiffer", featuring Lil Aaron.[9] The song was described by Billboard as alternative rock, folk, and "even country".[10] Her second single, "Crush", followed on March 18, and received a music video on August 3.[11] The two singles were part of her third extended play titled Inbred, released on April 23. The ambient-folk and slowcore EP,[12] was named by Pitchfork as one of The 49 Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2021,[13] and received a score of 7.6 out of 10 by the online music magazine.[14] Later on August 24, a stripped version of her second single was also published.[15] On March 8, 2022, she released a cover of the song "Everytime" by Britney Spears, as part of Spotify Singles, in observance of International Women's Day.[16]
On October 14, 2024, Cain announced her second album Perverts, slated to be released on January 8, 2025.[44][45] It was preceded by the release of the lead single "Punish".[46] On November 11, 2024, Cain shared the tracklist on to Perverts her Tumblr blog.[47]
Artistry
Cain's musical style has been classified as indie rock,[13]gothic,[48]contemporary folk,[49]alternative pop,[50]slowcore, Americana and ambient.[51] She also finds inspiration from gospel music, country music, classic rock and alternative music.[52] After Cain gained popularity with her single "Crush" from her EP Inbred (2021), this song being more-pop oriented than her usual alternative style, she talked about her "fear" of making pop music, saying that "once you make pop music, your other genres won't be taken as seriously," but "she has worked to make the music she wants."[53] Ethel Cain plans to release a book surrounding the story of her album Preacher's Daughter[54] alongside a film once her trilogy albums are released.[55]
Music critics have praised the "cinematography" in her songs, due to Cain's interest in movies and building songs with scenes and characters.[56] According to BroadwayWorld, Cain musically combines "elements of rock, country and cinematic nostalgia" paired with "ethereal vocals and raw lyrics to create her unique sound".[57] Her early musical influences included Karen Carpenter, the Steve Miller Band, and a variety of Christian music.[3] By discovering pop music as a teenager, Cain named Florence Welch, lead vocalist of the band Florence and the Machine, as her "teen idol".[2][58]
Personal life
Sexuality and identity
Cain came out as gay to her family at the age of 12, and on her 20th birthday, she publicly came out as a trans woman: "As I got older, I found out there were other options," she said.[2] Reflecting on this, she recalled: "It was made clear to everyone that I was not like other people. Whenever I started to develop, I started to come into my own as a trans woman. We were a house divided—it was me versus my whole town."[3] The singer identifies herself as a bisexual woman.[59]
She is autistic,[60] which she learned upon seeking a diagnosis in her adulthood.[61] Reflecting on how being autistic has impacted her artistry, she has stated:
I’m autistic, and so that definitely heightens sensory everything. [...] I think that's why I have so much crossover between media, because it's like, there's never just one sense. Music is not just something you listen to. Film is not just something you watch. You get all these senses from all these things. When I'm producing music, I literally feel sometimes I can see it. I have to close my eyes, and I imagine the bass is the earth. I imagine the synths are rising up next to you, and I imagine the vocals are high in the sky, right in the center. I close my eyes and picture the sound around me – that's how I mix.[60]
Religious beliefs
Reflecting on her religious upbringing in a 2021 interview, Cain said that she still considered herself a Southern Baptist: "Whether I like it or not, God always has and always will be a huge part of my life. Whether He's being used as a comforting figure or a threat, I've always been surrounded by it. It's not really something you can walk away from. And I'd rather just sit with it than be like 'Fuck the church!'"[62] In an interview for Rolling Stone in August 2023, she revealed that all of her family have since left the church, though she clarified they are still religious in some ways.[63] She elaborated in a Tumblr post in 2022 that she does not consider herself a Christian, nor as someone who cares about religion. However, she "still abides by the values [she] was raised on", such as kindness, graciousness, and loving thy neighbor.[64]
Political views
The lyrics of Cain's song "American Teenager" express criticisms of US gun culture, anti-war sentiment, and political and religious disillusionment. It was included by former President of the United States Barack Obama in his list of favorite songs of 2022, which prompted surprise from Cain that a former president had included her "anti-war, anti-patriotism fake pop song" in his end-of-year list.[65]
On February 14, 2024, she released a song on SoundCloud titled "من النهر," which is Arabic for "From the River", a reference to the pro-Palestinian phrase "From the river to the sea".[66]
In May 2024, she seemingly called for the assassination of United States President Joe Biden; she had added a post discussing Biden's approval of a billion-dollar arms sale to Israel on her Instagram story, with the caption "we need to bring back assassinations". She also called him a "bitch" in another story. She added, "feel like I'm taking crazy pills living in America in this day and age. Billionaires and politicians should be strung up in the street because what the hell is going on. And we can't even have a revolution because our terroristic military would crush us in a heartbeat if we tried to revolt."[67][68]
In November 2024, following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election, Cain responded saying: "everybody is so incredibly hateful. We are a loveless, disrespectful nation." and "if you voted for trump, i hope that peace never finds you."[69]
^While Ethel Cain is her main project, Anhedönia has other projects under different monikers, such as Atlas, Miss Anhedönia, Tommy, White Silas, and אשמדאי.
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