Ethel Cain

Ethel Cain is the musical project of Hayden Silas Anhedönia, an American singer-songwriter, record producer and model from Tallahassee, Florida, born in 1998 and raised in Perry. The project is associated with alternative folk, alternative rock, ambient, americana, dark ambient, dream pop, indie rock, contemporary folk, slowcore and ambient-folk, and is known for lyrics shaped by nostalgia and Southern Gothic imagery.

Background

Anhedönia grows up in a Southern Baptist family as the eldest of four children. Her father is a deacon, and she sings in the church choir from a young age alongside her mother. She begins studying classical piano at eight, is homeschooled, and leaves the church at 16. Christian music forms her earliest musical background.

Early recordings and aliases

Before establishing Ethel Cain as her main project in mid-2019, Anhedönia releases music under several other names, including ΛTLΛS, Miss Anhedönia, Tommy, White Silas and אשמדאי. She starts making music in 2017, initially working on dreamy bedroom pop demos. Her early Ethel Cain recordings include the four-song Carpet Bed, released in 2019, and the EP Golden Age, released later that same year.

Breakthrough and Inbred

After Golden Age, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal backs her and praises her songwriting and sense of melody. In 2020, Lil Aaron discovers her after a show in Los Angeles and introduces her to Prescription Songs, where she signs a publishing deal. In 2021 she releases her first single as Ethel Cain under that agreement, “Michelle Pfeiffer”, featuring Lil Aaron, followed by “Crush”. Those songs appear on the EP Inbred, released in 2021. The EP is described as ambient-folk and slowcore, and it receives strong critical attention.

Preacher’s Daughter

In 2022, Cain releases a cover of Britney Spears’s “Everytime” for Spotify Singles, then issues “Gibson Girl” and announces her debut album, Preacher’s Daughter. Released through her own label, Daughters of Cain, the album is a concept record centred on the character Ethel Cain. It is preceded by the singles “Strangers” and “American Teenager”, and becomes widely praised by critics, with many ranking it among the year’s best albums. In 2025, a vinyl release brings the album into the US Billboard 200, where it enters at number ten, while also reaching number one on Top Album Sales.

Tours and live performances

Cain tours in support of Preacher’s Daughter with the Freezer Bride Tour in 2022 and the Blood Stained Blonde Tour in 2023. She also opens for Florence and the Machine on the Dance Fever Tour and for Caroline Polachek on the Spiraling Tour. Festival and live appearances include Coachella in 2023, Vivid Live at the Sydney Opera House, Reading Festival, and Gunnersbury Park with Boygenius and Muna. During the Sydney performance she faints on stage, and the show is cancelled; she performs again the following day.

Later releases and projects

In 2023, she releases “Famous Last Words (An Ode to Eaters)”, inspired by Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, with 1017 ALYX 9SM, and the track appears on the project’s first compilation album. She is named in Forbes 30 Under 30 2024 for Music. In 2024 she releases “من النهر” (“From the River”), which she describes as a prayer for Palestinians, and a cover of American Football’s “For Sure” for American Football (Covers); she later performs that song with the band at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.

Perverts and Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You

In 2025, Anhedönia releases Perverts, an experimental drone project preceded by the single “Punish”. She later issues “Nettles” as the lead single from Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, a second album for the project and a prequel to Preacher’s Daughter. The album also has an accompanying tour.

Labels

Her work is released through Daughters of Cain Records, and her publishing is handled through Daughters of Cain Chapel Publishing. Earlier in her career, she signs a publishing deal with Prescription Songs.