‘Perverts’ Review: Ethel Cain Proves An Unrelenting Force 

After the success of Preacher’s Daughter back in 2022, Ethel Cain had solidified herself as almost a cult-like figure to her fans, Cain took that fame and showed that she does not care to please in her latest effort, Perverts. Read our Perverts review below. 

Ethel Cain has cemented herself as the weird girl of alternative pop. Perverts is her much awaited fourth album, but is a definite departure for the singer. Though her albums before were filled with ambient, meandering tracks, Perverts feels entirely consumed by this rarity. The album has nine tracks, but goes on for around an hour and thirty minutes the shortest song being just under seven minutes.

Cain has expressed her distaste for the TikTok-ification of her last work, Preacher’s Daughter, with songs like ‘American Teenager’ blowing up a year after its release. This album seems to be a direct response to that rise in popularity. It is almost like she set out to divide fans. The album is cinematic, creepy, and begging for the listener to be patient. Perverts is destined to alienate an average listener, but if you take a moment and really listen to what Cain is doing you can see how beautiful the silence, the abnormalities, and the waiting can be. 

Below I am going to dive deeper into, what I believe, are the two most important tracks: “Perverts” and “Housofpsychoticwomn.” 

“Perverts” (Track One) Review

“Perverts” is not only the opener, but the title track. The song is dark and euphoric, spanning over twelve minutes. “Perverts” begins with a rendition of ‘Nearer, my God, to thee’ sung by Cain, a Christian hymn about the transition from life to death. After a minute, the song goes dim, leaving the listener with empty, white noise. The song fluctuates between the white noise I mentioned before, and questionable lines of dialogue. It is brooding, starting the album off with a mind-numbing bang. The album is covered with allusions to one of the main themes discussed in the album, masturbation. This song directly mentions it with the line, “Heaven has forsaken the masturbator.” This line could be an ode to the fall of Lucifer from heaven, the masturbator being him, and alluding that he was cast from heaven for his perverted acts. 

I also find the final line, “It’s happening to everybody,” to be a striking one. I think it might be an attempt, by Cain, to say that everyone is condemned to the same fate. There is no stopping the perverted thoughts, and even if you suppress them that does not change the fact that they are there. It is an interesting line to end the song on, especially since it is the opening track. It rings in your head as you listen to the entirety of the album. 

“Housofpsychoticwomn” (Track Three) Review

A personal favorite track on the album for me is “Housofpsychoticwomn”. This thirteen-minute epic takes you down a whirling hole of shame and depravity. If you look at the track name, you can see the exclusion of two vowels, A and E. This could be alluding to Adam and Eve, which you should keep in mind while listening to the song for a new perspective. The track starts with the phrase “I love you” repeated multiple times, getting louder as it continues. To me, the song encapsulates the feeling of having a loss of innocence or experiencing one-sided love. The lyrics comment on the idea that something was taken away from her; maybe someone she thought loved her took it away after discovering her perversion. 

This song also dives into the theme of masturbation. In the background, you can hear moaning and are given the image of her waiting in bed for the lover she has lost. The moaning near the end grows into almost a guttural cry. This song is potentially the most draining of the bunch, leaving one with a sick feeling. 

Perverts is a difficult listen, and I cannot say I enjoyed every moment, but it has not left my thoughts since the first listen. The only song I did not enjoy was “Pulldrone”, which was the longest and most isolating part of the album. I can say that I appreciate a lot of what Cain is doing here, but at some points I did long for the escapism of “American Teenager” or “Sun Bleached Files.” 

The album is fully produced and written by Ethel Cain alone, while Dale Becker mastered it. You can listen to Perverts on all the major streaming platforms.

Thanks for reading this review of Ethel Cain’s Perverts. For more album reviews, stay tuned here at Feature First.