Strangers (Ethel Cain song)
"Strangers" | ||||
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Single by Ethel Cain | ||||
from the album Preacher's Daughter | ||||
Released | April 7, 2022 | |||
Length | 5:44 | |||
Label | Daughters of Cain | |||
Songwriter(s) | Hayden Silas Anhedönia | |||
Producer(s) | Ethel Cain | |||
Ethel Cain singles chronology | ||||
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Audio video | ||||
"Strangers" on YouTube |
"Strangers" is a song written, produced, and recorded by American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain for her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022). The last track on the record, it was released as its second single via her own record label, Daughters of Cain, on April 7, 2022. Influenced by grunge, it received praise from music critics for its affecting lines and its hair rock guitar solo. On "Strangers", she follows the narrative of the concept album centered on fictional characters; Cain concludes Preacher's Daughter with a cannibalistic climax.
Background and release
[edit]Ethel Cain began 2022 by announcing her debut studio album titled Preacher's Daughter, along with the release of the first single "Gibson Girl", on March 17. She also shared its track listing, in which "Strangers" appears as the last song.[1] She stated that it is the second song that she wrote for the record, "without the intention that it would become the ending".[2] About that topic, Cain continued:
Looking back, I can't imagine a more perfect resolution to this lineage. I think subconsciously, this song was always the end of the road. It's the realization that some things cannot be avoided, only accepted, and that just because it isn't a happy ending, doesn't mean it's a bad one. There is an ending in every beginning, and all things come back around in one strange way or another. You can't change your past, nor anyone else's, and the only real strength you have in this lifetime is your forgiveness.[2]
On April 7, 2022, Cain released "Strangers" as the second single from the project.[3][4]
Composition
[edit]With a "cannibalistic climax", it contains "haunting pianos", grunge guitars and "muddy sounds".[5] The song was described as "unbearably sad" and "is built across some of the record's most affecting lines" ("When my mother sees me on the side / Of a milk carton in Winn-Dixie's dairy aisle / She'll cry and wait up for me").[6] In the narrative of the album, in the song the character is a "freezer bride" in her killer's basement and being cannibalised as she sends out one final message of love to her mother.[7] The song ends with a "suprisingly [sic] fitting" hair rock guitar solo.[6]
Usage in media
[edit]The song was featured in the trailer for the upcoming American romance film It Ends with Us (2024), starred by Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "The dark story of Ethel Cain's Preacher's Daughter". SB Press. March 18, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Leas, Ryan (April 7, 2022). "Ethel Cain – "Strangers"". Stereogum. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (April 7, 2022). "Listen to Ethel Cain's New Song "Strangers"". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Linzinmeir, Taylor (April 7, 2022). "Ethel Cain releases "Strangers" ahead of debut album 'Preacher's Daughter'—listen". Alt Press. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ "Ethel Cain – Preacher's Daughter". Clash. May 18, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ a b Bridgewater, Paul (May 11, 2022). "Ethel Cain builds a world of her own on the impressive debut Preacher's Daughter". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ Williams, Tom (May 19, 2022). "Album Review: Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ Speakman, Kimberlee (July 20, 2024). "Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Get Steamy in New Trailer for It Ends with Us". People. Retrieved July 23, 2024.