Written by: Samantha Hass
I don’t really consider myself an album-listener. Rather than listening to whole albums in order, I normally just gravitate towards listening to songs that fit my mood at the time, paying little mind to the through line between song choices. Preacher’s Daughter, however, is my one exception to this. It is an album that I have listened to dozens of times at this point, and it is one that I will always return to, on account of how it crafts an impeccable, terrifying Southern Gothic narrative. Without a doubt, Preacher’s Daughter has taught me what albums can be like: immersive and downright cinematic.
Preacher’s Daughter, released in 2022 and created by singer-songwriter Hayden Anhedönia (professionally known as Ethel Cain), boasts an impressive thirteen-song track list. The album follows the fictionalized, teenage version of Ethel Cain (who Hayden uses as sort of an alter ego) ten years after the death of her abusive father, the town’s preacher. With this character, and with the setting of the deep American south, the album explores themes of love, religion, and generational trauma.
The album implements an almost three-act structure in how it frames Ethel Cain’s story through her three love interests. In the beginning of the narrative, Ethel mourns the loss of her one true love, Willoughby Tucker, with the song “A House in Nebraska.” We never find out what happens to him, only that Ethel is “the reason [he] won’t come home.” Is he dead? Did he run away? The answer remains unclear. Regardless, he is the only person who she truly loved, and with no other person does she replicate a relationship like the one she had with him. In the song “Western Nights,” Ethel, in an effort to feel wanted again, gets involved with Logan, an angry man who frequently starts fights in bars and shows his love “through shades of black and blue.” This relationship (one based in violence and aggression) ends quickly, though, and in the song “Thoroughfare,” Ethel Cain gets involved with her third lover, Isaiah. He encounters her on the side of the road in Texas one day and asks her if she wants to join him in his exploration of the west. Fascinated by his foreign charm and calm demeanor, she agrees and hops into his truck; this choice is the choice that leads her to her gruesome, inescapable demise. I have never listened to an album that has implemented storytelling in this manner. Everything about the narrative is compelling, from Ethel and Willoughby’s tragic backstory, to Ethel’s struggles with her faith, to the permeating southern ambience.
I will stop myself from getting too deep into spoiler territory here, as I believe that the album deserves to be enjoyed and interpreted chronologically. Dissecting the songs is undeniably worth it; each one boasts sweeping instrumentals and a timeless feel. And even though they feel interconnected, each song has its own distinguishing features. “American Teenager,” for example, is an accessible, catchy pop anthem featuring addicting synth sounds. “Ptolemea,” by contrast, is perhaps the darkest track, and it incorporates Ethel Cain’s tortured screams that eventually become diminished by static. Then there are songs “August Underground” and “Televangelism,” which do not have any lyrics at all; these sound like they would fit right in on a film soundtrack.
When I listen to songs off this album, I get swept away by each portion of the narrative and by Hayden Anhedönia’s musical talent. For example, it’s hard for me not to want to cry when listening to the emotionally charged “A House in Nebraska.” When I listen to the song, I picture the house that Ethel Cain sings about, with the “dirty mattress on the second floor.” The details in the lyrics make the song come to life; it is easy to feel exactly what Ethel herself feels. The last minute of the song swaps intricate lyrics for a soaring guitar solo, which, in my opinion, adds to the sadness of the track and makes it reach its emotional peak. Other songs, like “Ptolemea,” instill pure fear into my being. The song marks the point in the narrative where Ethel is meeting her grisly end, and the sound mixing and instrumentals are used intentionally to create a feeling of terror. The part that gets me the most are the quiet chants at the beginning of the track, sung by an ominous male voice, that desperately repeat: “Heard you, saw you / Felt you, gave you / Need you, love you / Love you, love you.” These lines are downright horrific, and they get me every time.
I’ll end this review off with a couple of my favorite lyrics from the album: from “Hard Times,” I’m always particularly drawn to the lines “I was too young to notice / That some types of love could be bad” and also “I’m tired of you still tied to me.” The song is steeped in exhaustion, and I believe these lines to be very profound in how they show Ethel processing her relationship with her father, family, and hometown. “Family Tree (Intro)” presents similarly striking and poignant lines: “Jesus can always reject his father / But he cannot escape his mother’s blood.” Ethel Cain uses these lines and this imagery to set up the complex familial relationships and religious ties that she unravels throughout the album.
Preacher’s Daughter is my favorite album of all time, and I absolutely recommend that you check it out for yourself. With its fascinating characters, memorable ambience, and genius lyricism, I can guarantee that you will be fully immersed in this audio narrative.
Featured Image Caption: The somber, sepia-toned aesthetic that Hayden Anhedönia employs for Preacher’s Daughter and promotional content.
