Perverts by Ethel Cain

This is not an album of bubbly pop songs for your Valentine’s Day, and it’s not your typical rock and roll. It’s much more important than that. This is a masterpiece of artistic catharsis. While relatively minimalist lyrically, there are just enough words to get the point across. Meanwhile, the instruments themselves are more evocative than anything from recent memory. The title track kicks off the album with a distorted hymn. Anyone who has ever been associated with a church, especially in the Southern United States, will easily recognize it. The tension builds as the hymn ends, and droning sounds reminiscent of a horror film come forth. The backdrop is a muffled preacher telling us who will not go to heaven. The ending of the song sets an ominous tone with the lyric “It’s happening to everyone”. Though apprehensive about whatever is “happening”, the soundscape has piqued my curiosity. I press on. The second track, and lead single, Punish, starts with the tension in the background. A softening comes by way of piano and a euphonious voice singing about shame and self sabotage. As the tone gets darker, the lyrics seem to coincide with the story of the fall of Lucifer. Vacillator presents a beautiful vocal arrangement that sets an erotic scene. About halfway through, the music becomes foreboding again, leading to an outro refrain, “If you love me, keep it to yourself.” Etienne is probably my favorite track on the album overall. It’s mostly an instrumental that sounds hopeful, building as it goes. In the final minute, the song ends with the telling of a story that could be seen as…triumphant. Amber Waves closes out the album with a song about coping with loss and trauma through addiction . “Cause the devil I know is the devil I want. Is it not fun to feel many other ways?” This album is very emotional from start to finish. Again, it’s more about the percussion and reverberations eliciting feelings from proportionately sparse lyrics. Some of the songs are so painful, it almost seems as if it’s a test to see how much the listener can handle. It’s a glimpse into what struggles and horrors any of us might go through in this life. My biggest takeaways after listening to the album several times are: Be patient, be kind, love. Suspend judgement, stay curious. Most importantly, don’t be a pervert.