This summer has seen the release of new music from artists likeLorde, Justin Bieber, and even the Jonas Brothers.The charts have been cluttered with music from nearly every genre,from rap to pop, alternative tocountry, and everything in between, as many artists ready themselves for full album releases, tours, and music festivals this fall.
Releasing two albums in one year is no small feat. With the kind of heavy promotion we’ve seen this summer for singles likeChappell Roan’s “The Subway,”getting a full album feels like a gift—let alone two.Ethel Cain has delivered exactly that, dropping two full-length albums in 2025so far.
Cain has been redefining modern goth rock since her first EP,Carpet Bed, in 2019. Her debut album,Preacher’s Daughter, peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released in 2022, andthis year Cain followed up with bothPervertsandWilloughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You,two very different, but very masterful albums.
Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You Is As Raw An Album As They Come
Ethel Cain is technically an alter ego,a character through which the artist Hayden Anhedönia tells her story, or rather stories.Through her music, Anhedönia is able to experiment with reliving her own memories through the lens of Ethel Cain, andWilloughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love Youis the newest installment in Ethel Cain’s epic.
The album is, at its core, a tragic and enduring love story.The lyrics are heartbreaking, and the album features three instrumental tracks that are evenly spaced throughout the LP and serve to heighten the feelings of love and loss. There are some moments of light, which Cain undoubtedly employs to make the heartbreak even more poignant when it comes.
The album’s two singles, “Nettles” and “F*** Me Eyes,” are two instances of that light penetrating the darkness of the album, with a more positive undertone throughout each of the story-arced songs. Overall,the musical composition and lyrics themselves take the listener directly through the motions of falling in love and getting one’s heart broken for the first time.
Cain’s Third Full-Length LP Stems From A Thematic Callback To Her Breakout Album, Preacher’s Daughter
Anhedönia has explained thatWilloughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love Youis meant to be a prequel of sorts to her first album,Preacher’s Daughter,particularly the song “A House In Nebraska.“In an interview withThe Line of Best Fit, Anhedönia explained that Willoughby Tucker is the man about whom “A House In Nebraska” was written.
It’s still very slowcore, because it’s still technically tied to Preacher’s Daughter, but it has a Christian rock edge because it takes place in the late eighties…But there’s always going to be a dream pop element, because that’s the core foundation of all my music. It’s gonna be really pretty and really sad; an honest look at the part of her life where she experiences gut-wrenching first love.
Preacher’s Daughter,while it still exhibits elements of Americana and Christian rock, is dominated by goth and dream pop.Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love Youincorporates both of those elements, but flipped:it draws more heavily from Americana and Christian rock influences than from Cain’s previously typical gothic dream pop sound.
Both albums share closely linked themes, exploring religious trauma through the lens of sexuality and coming-of-age. Anhedönia has taken Ethel Cain on an unflinching journey through hell and back—and she’s not done yet.Cain plans at least two more releases to complete her “Preacher’s” trilogy.
Two Albums In A Single Year: Ethel Cain’s 2025 Power Move
Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love Youmay have been the most highly-anticipated, immediately adored release from Ethel Cain this year, but it wasn’t her first.Cain started the year 2025 with a massive bang, releasingPervertsjust one week into January,seven months to the day before she released the more conventionalWilloughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You.
Yes, you read that correctly, her “wildly unconventional” third studio album ismoreconventional than her second—anyone with ears will agree.Pervertscould very well be one of the weirdest, most unconventional albums released by any artist packing Ethel Cain-level star status in the 2020s,let alone in 2025.
Boasting nine tracks,Pervertsconsists primarily of ambient noise, dark, droning electronics, and quirky instrumentals.The lead single and title track both discuss perversions and sexual deviancy in their lyrics, but for the most part, this is an experimental album, setting an atmosphere meant to evoke our own often-secret, sexually deviant feelings.
The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour Has Kicked Off
As if her 2025 hasn’t been crazy enough with two album releases,Ethel Cain has announced the Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour to close out the latter half of her year. The global tour kicked off in Seattle on August 12th, and is set to continue through February 2026, where it will conclude in Fremantle, Australia.
The Willoughby Tucker Forever tour consists of 59 shows in a little over six months, and spans North America, Europe, and Australia,making it her biggest tour to date by a margin of 13 shows.Accompanying her on tour is the band 9million, who opened for her for two shows during the Blood Stained Blonde Tour in 2023.
Cain has been gearing up for this moment since 2022, though her vision has been a bit different.Pervertswas always meant to be a side project, butWilloughby Tuckerwas meant to be a standalone EP. Her artistry clearly had different plans,leading to an absolute blow up this year, with a ton of momentum heading into 2026.
