words by Katherine Witts

Expanding on the Willoughbly Tucker lore, Ethel Cain debuts the first single from her prequel album to ‘Preachers Daughter’.

Have you ever loved someone to the point of no return? To the point where they could do no wrong? If so, you’ve probably gone down the rabbit hole of Ethel Cain.

The tragic and grotesque romance Hayden, the singer songwriter behind the character of Ethel Cain, explores in her first album shines a light on religious guilt, cannibalism, and girlhood as we know it.

The undeniably heartbreaking storytelling took the internet by storm, leaving fans wanting to know more about Cain’s love interest, Willoughbly Tucker.

To their surprise, Hayden was already writing and exploring the true nature of their love, ready for the prequel album ‘Willoughbly Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’.

In anticipation of the album release, on August 8th, Hayden provided fans with not only a 2025 tour, which sold out in stellar time, but also with the first track of the album, ‘Nettles’.

Opening the 8-minute track with a haunting instrumental, we’re transported to the American western suburbs.

The dreamy folk nature of her opening sounds similar to the soundtrack in Twin Peaks, and that’s for good reason.

Taking influence from the Cult classic show, Hayden explains in an Instagram post how “late last year I watched that video of Angelo Badalamenti [Twin Peaks composer] explaining how he wrote Laura’s theme and loved it so much that I hunted down the synths he used… and those are the ones I used for Willoughbly…”

Cain’s soft vocals aren’t introduced until almost two minutes into the track, and from there we’re transported into her longing aches for that their love won’t fade away.

Throughout the song Cain reminisces on her nightmares of loss and loneliness and begs for the reassurance that this wouldn’t become her reality.

‘Nettles’ is a raw and emotional track that highlights how intertwined intimacy and insecurity truly are.

Being no stranger to Hayden’s music, and the lore of Ethel Cain, I can’t wait for the new album and to see how many tracks will be added to my ‘staring at the ceiling’ playlist.

Listen to the track below: