"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.
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]
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]
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]
Blake Ellender Lively is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project Sandman (1998). She had her breakthrough playing Bridget Vreeland in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and its 2008 sequel, to commercial success. After starring in the comedy Accepted (2006), Lively achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama television series Gossip Girl (2007–2012). During this period, she also starred in the romantic comedies New York, I Love You (2008) and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), the thrillers The Town (2010) and Savages (2012), and the superhero film Green Lantern (2011).
Strangers are people who are unknown to another person or group.
"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" is a song performed by Journey, recorded for their album Frontiers and released as a single in January 1983. It peaked at number eight for six consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and spent four weeks at number one on the Top Tracks chart. The song is also well known for its use in the film Tron: Legacy and in season four of Stranger Things.
Cate Le Bon is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, to date, and is one half of the experimental music duo DRINKS with her partner Tim Presley. Her stage name is a tribute to English musician Simon Le Bon.
"Gorgeous" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album, Reputation. Big Machine Records released the song for download on October 20, 2017. Written by Swift and its producers, Max Martin and Shellback, "Gorgeous" is a bubblegum, electropop, and synth-pop song featuring a loop driven by minimal hip hop-inspired drum beats and synthesizers. Its tongue-in-cheek lyrics describe Swift's feelings for a newfound love interest.
Hayden Silas Anhedönia, known professionally as Ethel Cain, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and model. Inspired by Christian music and Gregorian chant, with lyrics focused on nostalgic and Southern Gothic themes, her music has been associated with the ambient, indie rock, and folk genres. She has released multiple extended plays (EPs) on streaming platforms under various aliases, before officially starting her main project in mid-2019.
"I Bet You Think About Me" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring harmony vocals from the American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. Swift wrote it with Lori McKenna in June 2011 and intended to include it on her fourth studio album, Red (2012). Although it did not make the cut, it was produced by Swift and Aaron Dessner for Red's re-recorded version, Red (2021). Republic Records and MCA Nashville released the song to US country radio on November 15, 2021.
It Ends with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. Based on the relationship between her mother and father, Hoover described it as "the hardest book I've ever written."
"Morning Elvis" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine and the closing track of their fifth studio album, Dance Fever, released on 13 May 2022 through Polydor Records. It was written by the band's leader, Florence Welch, along with Dave Bayley, and produced by them with Jack Antonoff. A live performance version of the song recorded in Denver, in collaboration with American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, was released as a promotional single on 9 December 2022.
Preacher's Daughter is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and record producer Ethel Cain, released on May 12, 2022, via her own record label, Daughters of Cain. It is a concept album that creates a narrative inspired by the artist's personal life as the daughter of a deacon and centered on fictional characters. Sonically, it experiments with folk music, Americana, slowcore, and other genres. The album was preceded by the release of three singles between March and April 2022: "Gibson Girl", "Strangers", and "American Teenager".
"American Teenager" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, released on April 21, 2022, as the third and final single from her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022). She produced the song and wrote it with Steven Mark Colyer. A heartland rock and indie folk track with beaming guitars, it illuminates both nostalgia for teenage life in the South and disillusionment with the American Dream. A self-directed music video for the song was published on July 21, 2022, three months after its release.
Inbred is the third extended play by American singer-songwriter Hayden Silas Anhedönia under the stage name Ethel Cain. It was released on April 23, 2021, through her own Daughters of Cain record label.
The Freezer Bride Tour was the first concert tour by American singer-songwriter Hayden Silas Anhedönia under the stage name Ethel Cain, in support of her debut studio album Preacher's Daughter (2022). The tour began on July 14, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana, and concluded in London, England, on December 7.
The Blood Stained Blonde Tour was the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter and producer Hayden Silas Anhedönia, under the stage name of Ethel Cain. Like the previous one, it served to promote the artist's debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022), a critically acclaimed concept album. The 46-show tour began on April 1, 2023 in Mexico City and concluded on October 24, 2023 in San Francisco.
"Gibson Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain. Composed and produced by Cain, it was released on March 17, 2022, as the lead single from her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022). A sexy and suspenseful song, it explores "fresh aspects of femme energy".
"Crush" is a song recorded, written, and produced by American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain. It was released on March 18, 2021, as the second single from her third EP, Inbred. A love song about an older person with a violent streak, it marked an approach by the singer towards a more pop sound. An official music video for "Crush" premiered on August 3, 2021. A stripped version of the track was released alongside an alternative video on September 24, 2021. Cain performed "Crush" at several events and included it on the regular set list of the Childish Behaviour Tour in 2024.
The Childish Behaviour Tour is the ongoing third concert tour by American singer-songwriter and producer Hayden Silas Anhedönia, under the stage name of Ethel Cain. It consists of 14 shows through North America and Europe, beginning on May 31, 2024 in Barcelona as part of the Primavera Sound Festival, and concluding on August 13 in Portland, Oregon.
"Famous Last Words (An Ode to Eaters)" is a song by American project 1017 ALYX 9SM and American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain. The debut single of the project by Givenchy creative director Matthew Williams, it was released on July 21, 2023, as the lead single from the collaboration album Compilation Vol. 1. The song was entirely written and produced by Cain, and marks the singer's first official release since her critically acclaimed concept album Preacher's Daughter (2022). A self-directed music video was released alongside the song.