Preacher's Daughter, Ethel Cain (8/10)

 Ethel Cain released her first real full-length album (she has a couple of 6 songs eps) a few days ago. I was a bit skeptical after I disliked the single she dropped (American Teenager) but honestly the album is so fucking fantastic. It begins with some more poppy tunes in the vein of like Lana Del Rey (I like these a bit less) but soon moves to more Cain's more dark electronic signature stuff with a couple interludes (Thoroughfare is much more folky/country; Televangelism is an instrumental piano ballad). All of the songs are pretty long, which I usually am averse to, but most of the time it works here and I didn't mind it. There are a couple of fucking virtuoso performances like Ptolemeae where Cain screams for a while or Family Tree. Bless. Ethel Cain is really talented and this album showcases a wide variety of her skills and genre choices. Her storytelling and the perverse religious persona of the Preacher's Daughter which has continued from her EP, Inbred, are just fucking awesome I think, and I can definitely see why she is quickly becoming a cult classic. Favorite tracks: Family Tree, Gibson Girl, Sun Bleached Flies, honorable mention to Ptolemeae

Edit: it's funny - I have totally different favorite songs after a month has gone by and listened to it again. 

Edit: I didn't realize she was trans until like July??? which makes the entire conceit just so fucking more subversive and reclaiming and fuck it's so good