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“Perverts” is a one hour forty minute long drone studio compilation written and produced by Hayden Silas Anhedönia who goes by their stage name Ethel Cain. It is an ambient experience produced to be an extension of Hayden’s previous album “Preacher’s Daughter”. Drone music is a musical genre characterized by sustained, low-frequency tones or chords that create a continuous, unchanging or slowly evolving background texture .

Perverts can be further classified into an Eerie drone Record. Drone music rarely contains any vocals and often makes up for it by faint backtracks or fluctuating sonic vibes that make sure the listener is engaged. Lyricism and Poetry being a key-part in the Perverts experience is what makes it so special. The title track talks about shame in perversion , of expression being overruled by Religion and the fear of the consequences of insubordination. Shame in resistance , shame in compliance, the song emphasizes on the constant pull between succumbing to religion and staying true to yourself. Other songs cover diverse subjects all chained together by the same uncanny, unpredictable soundtrack.Houseofpsycoticwmn painfully expresses a distressed child under the unstable arm of a psychotic abuser , likely maternal. The track is purposefully trying to create a phony sense of comfort by the constant repetition of “I love you” but it layers white noise and synth throbs, which ultimately feel unnerving rather than comforting.Punish’ is one of the most unsettling tracks—more chilling to experience than it is to intellectually dissect.

Punish is open to multiple interpretations and is about a child abuser possibly delusional purposefully mutilating himself to replicate a bullet wound chanting “ I am punished by love” . One of the most haunting and evocative tracks in this album has to be Pulldrone.

To grasp Pulldrone , we have to understand Jean Baudrillard’s simulation theory which mentions the existence of a hyperreality in which humans have been subjected to simulacra or simulations of real , existing things so much that simulations have been more influential than reality. Jean’s theology talks about the numbing of senses with us being to not trust our own senses as they can be manipulated so easily. Hayden has reconstructed this theory to mention religion and its same authority over humans and mentions the 12 Pillars of Simulacrum , the effects of a simulated world , which are Apathy, Disruption,Curiosity , Assimilation, Aggrandization, Delineation, Perversion , Resentment, Separation , Degradation ,Annihilation , Desolation. Apathy is the numbness from lack of motivation after reality becomes meaningless, Disruption is a break from the trance of Apathy , a moment of rudderless confusion, Curiosity is the inherent reaction to disruption a question of how and what if from an event.Assimilation is the processing of information, of discovery where Ethel accepts what she’s told , She’s unclean , a pervert and a tramp.Aggrandization is self-uplifting but triggered by internalized inferiority , where personality is challenged by other’s perception. Delineation is testing the boundaries and exactly defining what is what , Ethel mentions Delineation as a challenge of clarity from a manufactured reality. Perversion is a word used as a tool to create another fiction , a derogatory label for a sexually shameful person.Resentment is anger towards an entity that is responsible for the detriment of self. Separation is a break from reality and Degradation is the rot that follows it. Detachment from a carefully manufactured simulation leads to the rotting of spirit and mentality. Annihilation and Desolation are the emptiness that lack of everything brings which is described as a Hauntingly Aesthetic Wasteland.

“I like to think of the tracks of Perverts as furniture and the interpretations of my fans as the upholstery,” said Ethel in a recent interview.Perverts is not an album but a ritualistic anti-album ,instead of telling you what to think by throwing words at your face , Perverts gives you space to feel and experience it in your own unique way. The artist inspired by trauma , macabre and the uncanny has made this surreal experience with such craft and precision that it has gathered a handful of awestruck recipients. The only complaint I had with this drone studio compilation was that it felt like a way for Hayden Silas Anhedönia to detach from her mainstream audience and fully dedicate her life to her craft. Releasing an unconventional and experimental album at the height of one’s career may be a far-cry of her potential retreatment for the spotlight.