Preacher's Daughter (album)

## Singles from *Preacher's Daughter*

1. "Gibson Girl"
Released: March 17, 2022
2. "Strangers"
Released: April 7, 2022
3. "American Teenager"
Released: April 21, 2022

## Alternate covers

Alternate cover (1)

Alternate cover (2)

***Preacher's Daughter*** is the debut studio album by Ethel Cain. It was officially released on May 12, 2022, through her own Daughters of Cain label.

## Background

On March 18, 2022, Cain announced the release of the album along with the release of the lead single "Gibson Girl". On the same day, she shared the track listing of the record.

In an interview for *Vogue*, Hayden Silas Anhedönia said that one night in 2018 she "found herself possessed by a woman named Ethel Cain". The album was recorded for four years, and now the artist says that she doesn't "feel like her anymore—it’s like she’s dead and gone and I’m just telling her story now".

The album was finished on March 22, 2022, according to Ethel's response on Tumblr.

## Theme

It is the first in a trilogy that tells the story of the Cain family tree. The trilogy is also a part of a multimedia project called the Ethel Cain Cinematic Universe.

> "The story centers around three generations of women, and it starts with the youngest, the daughter. It’s pretty much just a classic American tale. A common theme that I like to write about is intergenerational trauma. Things that have been passed down through generations and how your parents’ or your grandparents’ actions can affect you. It’s very much about this lineage of women and how all their lives interconnect. Each album focuses on a different woman. I want to explore how your actions affect others and the relationship between a mother and her child and how things come full circle."
>
>

The record is set in 1991, a decade after the death of Ethel's father, the town preacher. She is last seen in Arlington, Texas on January 13th in a Winn-Dixie parking lot. She was knocked out by a blonde man and put into a black short bed pickup truck.

*Preacher's Daughter* documents the life of Ethel and her relationship with a lover. In "A House in Nebraska" she talks about how she misses her lover and how she is remembering all the times they shared. In "Hard Times" she talks about an abusive relationship with her dad, and also her feelings to him after that. "Ptolemaea" is the climax of the album, with lots of religious themes and haunting voices, as if Ethel is hallucinating. The name *Ptolomaea* references the Ninth Circle in *Dante's Inferno* which is for betrayers. "August Underground" is an instrumental and sets the mood for when she dies trying to escape Isaiah, the song is also a reference to the Snuff Film *August Underground*. This album is supposed to summarize her life after her father died 10 years prior to the album.

## Artwork

Ethel revealed the official album artwork for her album *Preacher's Daughter* on March 20, 2022. On May 18, 2022, the singer shared two alternate versions of the cover and revealed that the artwork was shot by her sister, Delilah Dolimiere.

In June 2022, Ethel shared *Preacher's Daughter* demos and they contained two old covers one of which was taken back in 2018, when she was releasing music under the moniker White Silas.

Standart artworkAlternate artwork (1)Alternate artwork (2)Demo versions artwork (1)Demo versions artwork (2)
## Tour

**The Freezer Bride Tour** is the first concert tour by Ethel Cain, it was in support of her debut studio album, *Preacher's Daughter*. The tour began on July 14, 2022, in Bloomington, Indiana and ended on December 7, 2022, in London, England. During the North American leg of the tour, the special guest was a Colyer.

## Critical reception

*Preacher's Daughter* received a score of 82 out of 100 based on eight reviews from media aggregate site Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". On the aggregator website AOTY the record received a score of 84 out of 100 and was marked as "must hear album".

In a five-star review for *DIY*, Ben Tipple wrote that Cain "has an unparalleled power to drag you into her world" and called her "an autobiographical embodiment of escape, and of a fresh start". Jessie Atkinson of *Gigwise* named *Preacher's Daughter* "an American epic" and that "Ethel Cain is only 24 and has already written something as striking and with as much potential for cultural impact". *Crack* writer Emma Garland called Cain's voice "resplendent and seemingly infinite in register, and transforming this landslide of beauty and suffering into some of the most fearless songwriting in recent memory."

Devon Chodzin of *Paste*, wrote that "where one may knock some of the power ballads for sameness, one might instead find consistency, an album grounded in the artist’s inspirations and narrative mission that is, above all, tantalizing. It is hard not to crave more." *The Line of Best Fit* contributor Paul Bridgewater called the album "thematically a reckoning of salvation and oppression, all played out across the battlefield of religion and love. It's an ambitious undertaking for a first album, but Cain's success largely comes down to embracing the universal language of pop as her mother tongue and keeping a deft hand over all aspects of her work, as both songwriter and producer." *Clash* writer Oshen Douglas McCormick called it "a heart-wrenching collection of songs that urges the listener to give themselves over to this album as much as Ethel Cain gives herself over to you."

## Tracklist

All tracks written and produced by Ethel Cain, except where noted.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/mothercain/status/1504306552353738754
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/mothercain/status/1504455397670797314
3. ↑ https://www.vogue.com/article/ethel-cain-givenchy-campaign-interview
4. ↑ https://mothercain.tumblr.com/post/679532706788507648/have-you-finished-reading-the-devil-all-the-time
5. ↑ https://www.altpress.com/ethel-cain-interview-issue-402/
6. ↑ https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/hayden-anhedonia-invention-ethel-cain
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/mothercain/status/1505548462347149312
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/mothercain/status/1526946481827041280
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