Idealism tears artists apart. For those terminally online listeners watching the fallout between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey, they may have missed an important footnote. At the centre of this uneventful back-and-forth is a layer of truth. Both may be in the wrong in how they act, but the assessment of Del Rey as an idealised view of old-school Americana right, a tinge of Republicanism to the flowing dresses and country club aesthetic, is hard to disagree with. It does not mean Del Rey’s music is adjacent to the right-wing grift, nor herself either, but if the shoe fits. That is not to say Cain’s point strengthens Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, either. Listeners are now pivoting between escapism and desperation as artists try and fail to find the route through these worrisome times. Artists can only write their truth from the past, and Cain’s past is stained with countrified, Baptist upbringings.
Perverts was a masterclass from earlier this year, and more from Cain is welcome. Atmospheric continuations on Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You are consistent. A similar tone to the menace and magic found on the so-called EP from earlier this year. Spirited and flailing emotions are to be heard on this recent release. That volatility is quite relaxing. To know the peaks and valleys are a constant of life is to be assured by their presence when they do appear. We cannot be in a binary state of happy or sad, that simplicity is charmless. Soundscapes like Willoughby’s Theme are nothing short of monumental. But when Cain tackles the ambient, dreamy-like pop sound, is she not just another slice of Del Rey cultural commentary? Fuck Me Eyes certainly fits into that style. All Cain has done is prove she can dip into the darker side of her sound. But dipping into these depths and releasing them for public scrutiny and development is certainly better than what Del Rey offers.
Irrespective of the back-and-forth which is now casting a shadow on this release is the consistencies Cain brings out in the studio. Fuck Me Eyes starts relatively predictably but ends as a shimmering, instrumentally rich piece of work. Nettles is a tone more suited to Cain, not because it is a pastiche of the earlier sound but a striking contrast to her work earlier this year on Perverts. It’s that back-and-forth which gives her sound that blissful sensation and brutal clarity. Dust Bowl is the best example of this. The sting of Fuck Me Eyes but the subtleties and welcome nuance of Nettles pair for a masterclass moment. A defining thrill to Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You can be found here. Flashes of brilliance are given breaks with the beeping of clinical heart monitors on Radio Towers. It’s the contemplation between songs which matters as much as the message.
That is a fundamental to Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. A recontextualization of previously released material comes through clear enough. Not as strong a sound as Perverts, but then these are two very different extremes from Cain. A selection of songs charting a fictional prequel to Preacher’s Daughter. It’s so much more than that, though. What Cain compiles on this release with her wordplay, the intensity and isolation of strong guitar work on Tempest, for instance, is magnificent. It’s as true a look at the world as you would expect of an artist who, by the sounds of it, is at the top of her game. Those deep worldbuilding exercises are a reflection of the modern world, as they so often are for artists, but it’s the obviousness paired with a gutting clarity that gives Cain the edge.
