There are few artists as devoted to world-building as Hayden Anhedönia. The 27-year-old musician, born in Tallahassee, Florida, is known on stage by her hand-crafted musical persona, Ethel Cain. Anhedönia’s entire discography is sang from Cain’s perspective, with each song adding a piece to the puzzle, painting the trials and tribulations of a late 21-year-old from the rural deep south.
Ethel Cain has been releasing music since 2019, but it was her 2022 critically-acclaimed debut Preacher’s Daughter that began the chronological recount of her life. Listeners are provided with an uninterrupted semi-fictional chronology of an experience growing up in 1970s rural America, presenting the challenges Cain’s character faces along the way – eventually leading to her fatal demise.
The album also encapsulates the potence of her first and only true love with another character, local Willoughby Tucker. In the track ‘A House in Nebraska’, Cain lays bare her eternal longing to reunite with her lover, revealing how close to her heart she holds their encounter. It’s widely agreed that their breakup was the catalyst for Cain’s downfall, leading her to descend into a spiral of chasing that same sense of belonging she once had.
Fans were delighted when earlier this year, Cain announced the release of her sophomore album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, following an ambient project of sinister and other-worldly drone tracks, titled Perverts, that was released in January. Whilst the latter is hauntingly atmospheric, it is a departure from the timeline. This new record promised an expansion of the Ethel Cain lore, with a specific focus into the time she spent with her beloved.
Cain brought herself to life on stage during The Willoughby Tucker Forever tour, which included two sold-out nights in Manchester at the O2 Apollo. These were her first shows in our city in over two years, following a low-production, eight-track set at New Century Hall in late 2023 as part of her Blood Stained Blonde Tour. In her time away, her online presence has skyrocketed, with her career subsequently catapulting to dizzying new heights. At the first date of the two-night residency, box office staff were quick to note that queues of devoted Ethel Cain fans had formed as early as 7 AM.
Toronto alt-rock seven-piece 9Million, led by Cain’s producer and frequent collaborator Matthew Tomasi, got the crowd warmed up with an array of intoxicatingly energetic alt-rock bangers. This was their first international show, and whilst it did show with their awkward crowd interactions and lack of charisma, the crowd still met them well. Their charm perhaps comes best from their uniqueness: it’s rare to see a seven-piece band, each playing a different instrument and all working together to deliver a song.
Soon after 9Million’s set wrapped up, the stage was set for the main act. Immediately, it was clear that the production for this tour had significantly levelled up. A whimsical set of nature-absorbed instruments surrounded a stage-centred microphone stand that resembled a cross. Fittingly poetic, Cain reminded her fans, many of whom are highly invested and interested in her world-building, that she takes to the stage from beyond the grave.
As soon as the lights dimmed, the crowd briefly erupted before quickly settling into a silence, as though they knew that they were about to receive a theatre-level performance that commanded total theatre etiquette. Tears were flowing at the barrier before her first word was spoke – a true testament to how strong Cain’s bond with her audience is. Opening tracks ‘Willoughby’s Theme’ and ‘Janie’ were nothing short of spellbinding, leaving audience members in complete awe of her angelic vocal range and ability to bring a character to life so well.
The first portion of Ethel Cain’s set saw tracks flowing seamlessly into one another, right through from ‘Fuck Me Eyes’ to ‘Dust Bowl’. The combination of the of the stage set and lighting made this as immersive an experience as any.
However, Cain took time to break character and discuss the horrific ongoings of the day with the fatal act of terror at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, with a speech reminding her crowd that we cannot stand in fear no matter how scary times may be. This was powerful – unifying all 3500 in that room through our resilience, and it proved a true testament to her character.
Following this, Cain slowed the pace with a selection of ambient tracks from her Perverts project and slower ballads from Willoughby Tucker. This had potential to make any plus one switch off entirely, with around half an hour of slow-paced songs following such a high-energy warm up. Somehow, however, Cain managed to keep her crowd in a trance with her haunting vocal range that remained awe-inspiring.
The set wrapped with an eventual acknowledgment of the cult classic record Preacher’s Daughter, drawing the night to a close on the same high note that it started with 9Million. Cain’s ability to command the audience’s attention and put on a real show with so little effort is entirely impressive. The joyously up-beat encore of ‘American Teenager’ saw Anhedönia frolicking across the stage with nothing more than a microphone and an Ethel Cain sized dream — one that fully came to fruition on stage before us.
