Cult Cain: Can’t spell ethereal without Ethel

“It’s happening to everybody”

Silken Weinberg

If you’ve always believed you’d never fall into a cult, this album might just prove you wrong. Encapsulating the ideology that riddles Perverts, Ethel Cain has long teased the quote “It’s happening to everybody” which has sensationalised the pull from the album. Perverts was released just last week, yet it feels as though we’ve barely scratched the surface of its deep resonance. The album was entirely produced and mixed by Hayden herself and marks a departure from the character of Ethel Cain, introduced in 2022’s Preacher’s Daughter. Instead, the long, hazy tracks on Perverts delve into themes of sex and, naturally, perversion through a variety of unnamed narrators. Cain explained, “Perverts is built around a personal philosophy, so while there’s a specific concept, there aren’t any characters or anything so to speak.” Teasing this new musical chapter, she wiped her Instagram feed clean, replacing it with a series of cryptic posts, each adorned with a single-word caption:

“I apathy II disruption III curiosity IV assimilation V aggrandization VI delineation VII perversion VIII resentment IX separation X degradation XI annihilation XII desolation”

This personal philosophy that Hayden has been working on — “The 12 Pillars of Simulacrum”, was half-inspired by Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation, and her own thoughts which she shared in a video titled “the ring, the great dark, and proximity to god.” One year later, the concept reached its full realisation, finding its voice and embodiment in Perverts. Ethel Cain describes her concept of the Ring as a profound sensation brought about by monumental songs — she specifically mentions Florence + the Machine’s songs. This transcendent feeling can also arise while driving or standing beside rushing bodies of water. “This is what God feels like,” she reflects, “life, everything around you, the peak of it all.”

The video delves further, presenting a diagram that illustrates the ascension toward The Ring. It begins in the “Great Dark,” a realm representing our everyday, mundane existence. Ethel suggests that music is the force that draws some individuals toward The Ring — a phenomenon some encounter knowingly, others unknowingly, and some perhaps never at all. She then shares examples of her personal Rings: Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine, Grandloves by Purity Ring, and Pedestal by Vera Blue.

Ethel describes the culmination of this experience as The Sigh — a release after climbing the great hill leading to the divine theatre. In this sacred moment, God is present behind a thin veil. This proximity to the divine must be balanced, as Ethel reminds us that “too much of a good thing is a bad thing”. Beyond being a concept, The Ring also serves as a mixing chart for music, encapsulating the full spectrum of frequency. When the ring is “activated”, it pulls at the soul, transcending sound to become this emotional experience. After some digging around on the internet and inevitably landing ourselves on Reddit, one user shared the high-resolution diagram drawn by Hayden: 

Reddit user

With the big picture in place, let’s dive into the titular track. It opens with a brief, lo-fi rendition of “Nearer, My God, to Thee”—a 19th-century Christian hymn, which recounts the biblical story of Jacob’s dream. The hymn introduces a stark irony, with its yearning for divine closeness and heavenly ascent, and the album’s exploration of profane themes such as perversion and forsakenness. It is also worth noting that the song is most famously associated with the sinking of the Titanic, where it was alleged to be the final song played by the ship’s band. Thus imbuing the track with a macabre resonance, intertwining themes of tragedy, devotion, and inevitable descent.

We can draw similarities here to the story of the fallen angel Ashmedai (or Asmodeus) from biblical lore. Cast out of heaven for his lust, Ashmedai became enamoured with Sarah, a love that drove him to kill her seven successive husbands. The notion of committing heinous acts in the name of lust resonates deeply with the themes explored throughout the album.

Hayden has a tattoo on her forehead of the angel Gabriel (left), and demon Ashmedai (right)

The last stop in this deep dive into the lore behind the album is the Bruce Mansfield Plant — a muse of sorts. Leading up to the creation of the album Ethel spent her time lusting after the defunct power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. She shares “I’d drive up the river in the middle of the night and sit there for hours, admiring the sheer might of the towers and how beautiful and resolute they stood against the grey night sky. They became a beacon of religiosity, sexual liberation and enjoyment, of contentedness. When I would drive home, I would masturbate in the dark and think about them and only them”

The concept behind Perverts (if we understood correctly) seems to transcend mere music-making — Cain’s process becomes a form of alchemy. Through producing and performing she opens portals for listeners to feel the same pull, the same transcendence she does while we confront the complexities of the human experience. 

Feel the pull of The Ring and stream Perverts here

Images by Silken Weinberg and Cain’s socials

Words by Veronica Tlapanco Szabó