Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, the second studio album by singer-songwriter and producer Ethel Cain, was released in August of this year. Both of these albums by Cain are concept albums, albums that tell a fictional story, through her perspective. This album serves as a prequel to Cain’s first studio album, Preacher’s Daughter, telling the story and romance of Ethel Cain and Willoughby Tucker before the events of Preacher’s Daughter. There are ten tracks on this album with varying lengths, making the album in total over 70 minutes long.
In reality, I am not a music expert, or even an expert at critiques. However, I am a fan of more slow, ambient, and rock-based music. I am also a fan of storytelling through music. These two things that define Cain’s musical niche. I will be rating this album based on music production and lyricism.
Sonically, even with each track bringing a different and unique sound and energy, this album stays very consistent. This album has three purely instrumental tracks, those being “Willoughby’s Theme,” “Willoughby’s Interlude,” and “Radio Towers,”
In typical Ethel Cain fashion, these instrumental tracks start off slow, building up to a strong crescendo: a sonical structure prevalent throughout most of Cain’s songs. Nonetheless, though it might be used a lot, I feel that Cain makes it unique and impactful enough each time to keep from being repetitive.
This album is very strong lyrically, with each track of the record containing some sort of meaning to the album’s narrative. Tracks like “Nettles” and “Janie” are perfect examples of this, with “Nettles” being a song in which Cain, upon being in a relationship, fantasizes about all of the bad things that could happen during her relationship, ultimately doubting herself. “Janie” is about Cain’s childhood friend of the same name. Cain describes how they have drifted since Janie got a boyfriend. The language and the way the lyrics were written, along with the melodies of the songs, made for a very impactful listening experience. Also, for me, the reliability of certain lyrics on songs in the album made it even more impactful. Cain’s use of figurative language paints a vivid picture and helps convey the storyline in a way that leaves a lasting impression on listeners.
In conclusion, I think Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You is almost perfect. I love the slow, melodic production of the album, with my favorite part being Cain’s strong lyricism. Although, I do feel as though multiple parts of the record feel slightly empty, and that was where it became shy of perfect for me. Nonetheless, this album remains one of my favorite listens from 2025, and from Cain in general.
