Near the end of December, Ethel Cain shared a surprise complilation of demo tracks from her album, "Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You," earlier released in August
The album begins with the song “Janie,” which is a slow guitar song with dismal lyrics. Cain delivers soul-crushing lyrics throughout the song like “But I still play pretend like I don’t watch you leaving” and “You’ll keep changing, I will stay the same." In track four, “Nettles," Cain compares herself to the nettle plant, which is protective and painful to touch, symbolising her struggle with wanting to be loved but finding it hard to give up her vulnerability. Cain sings that she longs to be “Held close all the time, knowing I’m half of you." The lyrical delivery mixed with the faint bass provokes a heavy feeling within the listener.
Joanna Kim (10) discussed the symbolism throughout the album.
“I think personally when the music resonates with the singer themselves, it comes off more personal and helps connect the fanbase with the artist,” Kim said.
“Dust Bowl” is a complicated and unravelling remnant of a powerful love story. The song is named after the “Dust Bowl” as a metaphor to contrast environmental despair with the emotional turmoil that Cain felt. “Waco, Texas” is the tenth and final song on the album that lasts for a melancholic fifteen minutes. The song tells a tragically dark love story between Cain and Willoughby Tucker, trapped in a cycle of hurting each other and reliance. Throughout the song, the impending sadness only builds, creating an uneasy feeling reflective of the toxic relationship. The song finishes with the lyrics “I can wait if I want. But it’ll never be good enough like I want to believe it is.” The “happily ever after” is not conveyed, emphasising that Cain still carries these issues into her life of longing, love and loss.
