After beginning the year with her probably-divisive-on-purpose ambient/drone album Perverts (that began ending up on some mid-year lists this week), Ethel Cain revealed that she’ll release another new album called Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You on August 8. First single “Nettles” is out today, and it’s a haunting, folky, eight-minute song that’s definitely more traditionally accessible than Perverts. Ethel says:
This song and the last track on the record were both written the same week, the very first week I moved into the house in Alabama where I finished Preacher’s Daughter. In similar fashion to Preacher’s Daughter (specifically “A House in Nebraska” and “Strangers”), I wrote what essentially became the beginning and end of the story without realizing it. What were originally just little vignettes of emotion I was feeling at the time ultimately became the tentpoles for a larger narrative. “Nettles” became a dream of losing the one you love, asking them to reassure you that it won’t come true and to dream, instead, of all the time you’ll have together as you grow old side by side. Every once in a blue moon, it feels good to slough off the macabre and to simply let love be.
Listen below.
Ethel also has a tour with 9million coming up, including NYC shows at Radio City Music Hall on September 9 and Kings Theatre on September 10. All dates are listed below.
Ethel Cain — 2025 Tour Dates
August 12—Paramount Theatre—Seattle, WA
August 13—Paramount Theatre—Seattle, WA
August 15—Queen Elizabeth Theatre—Vancouver, BC
August 16—Edgefield—Portland, OR
August 18—The Greek Berkeley—Berkeley, CA
August 20—Shrine Auditorium—Los Angeles, CA
August 21—Shrine Auditorium—Los Angeles, CA
August 22—Arizona Financial Theatre—Phoenix, AZ
August 24—The Bomb Factory—Dallas, TX
August 25—713 Music Hall—Houston, TX
August 26—Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park—Austin, TX
August 28—The Eastern—Atlanta, GA
August 29—The Eastern—Atlanta, GA
August 30—Asheville Yards—Asheville, NC
September 4—Stage AE —Pittsburgh, PA
September 5—The Anthem—Washington, D.C.
September 6—The Met—Philadelphia, PA
September 9—Radio City Music Hall—New York, NY
September 10—Kings Theatre—Brooklyn, NY
September 12—Roadrunner—Boston, MA
September 13—Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B—Buffalo, NY
September 15—Queen Elizabeth Theatre—Toronto, ON
September 16—Queen Elizabeth Theatre—Toronto, ON
September 17—Masonic Cathedral Theatre—Detroit, MI
September 19—Palace Theatre—St. Paul, MN
September 20—The Salt Shed (Fairgrounds)—Chicago, IL
October 2—O2 Apollo—Manchester, England
October 3—O2 Apollo—Manchester, England
October 4—O2 Academy Glasgow—Glasgow, Scotland
October 6—Eventim Apollo—London, England
October 7—Eventim Apollo—London, England
October 9—Eventim Apollo—London, England
October 10—Eventim Apollo—London, England
October 11—Eventim Apollo—London, England
October 14—Ancienne Belgique—Brussels, Belgium
October 15—TivoliVredenburg—Utrecht, Netherlands
October 16—TivoliVredenburg—Utrecht, Netherlands
October 18—L’Olympia—Paris, France
October 19—L’Olympia—Paris, France
October 21—Carlswerk Victoria—Cologne, Germany
October 23—Tempodrom—Berlin, Germany
October 24—Docks—Hamburg, Germany
October 25—Vega—Copenhagen, Denmark
October 27—Sentrum Scene—Oslo, Norway
October 28—Fållan—Stockholm, Sweden
October 31—Stodola—Warsaw, Poland
November 1— Velký sál Lucerna—Prague, Czech Republic
November 2—Gasometer—Vienna, Austria
November 4—X-tra—Zurich, Switzerland
November 5—Alcatraz—Milan, Italy
November 7—Razzmatazz—Barcelona, Spain
November 8—Teatro Eslava—Madrid, Spain
November 9—LAV Warehouse—Lisbon, Portugal