Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You

Released in August 2025, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You serves as a pivotal narrative expansion in Ethel Cain's Southern Gothic universe. Following the breakthrough success of Preacher’s Daughter, this album shifts the focus toward a more intimate, folk-inflected sound while doubling down on the slowcore structures that define her work. The record is notable for its extreme track lengths, particularly the centerpiece Waco, Texas, which clocks in at over fifteen minutes and showcases Cain's ability to blend ambient textures with traditional songwriting. Critics from AllMusic and Musikexpress highlighted the album's production, noting the shift toward tape-saturated analog warmth and the use of field recordings to ground the songs in a specific sense of place. It positions Cain not just as a singer-songwriter, but as a sonic architect of the American South, blending the skeletal beauty of Mazzy Star with the narrative weight of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.