- Preacher's Daughter
- Willoughby Tucker
- Preacher's Wife
- Mother of a Preacher
- To see alternate articles, check out Willoughby Tucker.
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You[a] is the second studio album by Hayden Anhedönia under her current stage name Ethel Cain. It was released on August 8, 2025, under her imprint label of AWAL, Daughters of Cain. It was made available digitally with physical analogs being shipped the same day.
Originally conceived as a B-sides EP, Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You is a concept album. It serves as a prequel to her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter, and as suggested by the title, focuses on Ethel Cain's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Willoughby Tucker which starts in 1986, and their eventual split, prior to the events that unfold in Preacher's Daughter. Two singles were released for the album: "Nettles" and "Fuck Me Eyes."
Background[]
Following the release of Anhedönia's debut album Preacher's Daughter, planned to move on to other projects—more "mature" things as she described. However, she felt as if she wanted to expand on Ethel Cain's story. Following this realization, Anhedönia started recording for what would eventually become Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You. She started recording the album in early 2022, finishing it in March 2025.
Development[]
- To be completed
In 2022, Anhedönia confirmed in response to a Tumblr ask that "Dust Bowl" was intended for an unnamed prequel EP. Describing the sound of the project, she called the songs "dreampop ballads with a slowcore flair [...] but if they were played on a Christian rock radio station in 2006."[1] She also used metaphorical language to describe the music as being colored "amber," comparing it to "a truck's headlight or brown eyes in the sun." Throughout development, Anhedönia shared demos and snippets of various tracks, including "Dust Bowl," "Homecoming," and "xxxxxxxxxx." Of these, only "Dust Bowl" made it onto the final tracklist. Other songs recorded prior to the album's conception were also considered for inclusion, such as "Nettles and "Waco, Texas." In a now-deleted Tumblr post, Anhedönia described the songs on Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You as remnant of her EP Golden Age.
““Willoughby Tucker” was a very different process [from Preacher's Daughter]. [...] The only thing I have ever truly, deeply, unequivocally loved in my whole life was telling stories and making music. And the fact that I feel nothing for making music right now, for this portion, that was hard.”
Originally planned as a companion EP to Preacher's Daughter, the project was approximately fifty minutes long. It was reportedly completed in late 2023,[2][3] but Anhedönia ultimately scrapped this version due to dissatisfaction with its direction. By April 2024, "Waco, Texas" was confirmed for inclusion on her next full-length record. Following the release of Preacher's Daughter, Anhedönia spoke about her struggles with songwriting. In a 2024 livestream, she revealed that her creative process had significantly shifted after releasing the album due to outside influences she allowed in, making it difficult for her to write new material. In multiple press interviews, Anhedönia stated that she had struggled recording music for the album, due to the onset of her career and the allowance of outside forces between her and the project. She stated on the podcast Song Exploder that she started to resent creating music, and eventually took a break from working on the project.
On January 8, 2025, following the release of her fourth EP, Perverts, Anhedönia announced via Tumblr that she was finishing the album. In a Discord chat on January 10, 2025, she remarked: "I'm returning to an older sound for the next project; just super simple and dreamy and heavy like all my favorite parts of Preacher’s Daughter." That same year, she was placed on probation that restricted drug use and travel, forcing her to cancel plans to finish the album in Toronto with frequent collaborator Matthew Tomasi. Nevertheless, she completed the album with Tomasi in her home studio. Throughout these stages of development, Anhedönia continuously watched the television series Twin Peaks, which she cited as a source of inspiration. The album was finished on March 24, 2025.
Images[]
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Release and Promotion[]
- To be completed
In 2025, Anhedönia began planning her fourth concert tour. A premature update to the Live Nation UK website briefly revealed the album's title before being reverted. On March 24—the day the album was completed—Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You was officially announced alongside The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour. The lead single, "Nettles," was announced on May 28 via Instagram and released on June 4 with a visualizer, followed by promotional interviews with Genius and Song Exploder. A second single was teased for July 2, with its title, "Fuck Me Eyes," leaked a day early. Released alongside a visualizer, the track was promoted through interviews with The Zane Lowe Show, The Guardian, Popcast (podcast for The New York Times), and The Cut.
On July 7, 2025, the album's official tracklist was revealed on Instagram. The full album was released on August 8, 2025. Following its release, Anhedönia shared a reflective Instagram post detailing her thoughts on the record. Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You marked her final release with Prescription Songs and Amigo Records, both owned by producer Dr. Luke. Anhedönia expressed relief over leaving the labels, having previously spoken negatively about her experience with Dr. Luke and publicly denounced him over past allegations of sexual assault and employment discrimination. Post-release, the album received continued promotion through a number of interviews and editorials.
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You: Midnight Listening Events[]
On July 23, 2025, it was announced on Anhedönia's Instagram story that album listening events in North America would occur at midnight at indie record stores on August 8, 2025. Two days later, locations for record stores in Europe and Australia were announced to take place on August 7, 2025. An exclusive pieces of merchandises was made available for people who attended specific stores.
Images[]
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Physical Releases[]
- Main Article: Merchandise: Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
On June 4, 2025, it was announced Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You would be released in physical formats including on vinyl, CD, and cassette. Pre orders went on sale on that Friday. Before the release date of Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You, users had reported that their physical editions of the album shipped early.
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Booklet
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Performances[]
- Main Article: The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour
On March 18, 2025, many venues in the US and Canada posted signs saying "this was all for you", which Anhedönia posted via Instagram story, hinting at another tour. The rumors were later confirmed after vendors had accidentally posted about the tour on Anhedönia's profiles on their websites. Along with this, the banner on her profile had changed to another image. The tour would later be revealed to be The Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour, which would be in promotion of the album.
Theme[]
Narrative[]
As stated by Anhedönia, the album covers Ethel Cain's high school years starting in 1986 and ending in 1990, prior to the events in Preacher's Daughter[4]. It specifically focuses on her relationship with her former boyfriend Willoughby Tucker, and also introduces new characters, such as her best friend Janie and classmate Holly Reddick. The album starts off with Ethel reeling about her best friend Janie drifting away from her due to her having a new boyfriend. At the same time, she starts getting closer to Willoughby Tucker, and soon they start a relationship themselves. In the beginning, Ethel is insecure about his interest in her, having some jealous feelings towards their collegue Holly, but nevertheless they stay together and ofter spend time at an abandoned house at the edge of town, pretending to be in Nebraska living their life together away from all their familial traumas.
After a near-fatal accident at the factory where Willoughby worked, the real world starts to creep into their fantasy as Willoughby starts to realize that realistically they could never escape the stains their family left on them, and that starts with the dynamic they have on their relationship. Due to relationship with her father growing up, Ethel prohects the image of a good and strong man who will save from her suffering, while failing to realize that he is still struggling to keep himself sane due to his own traumas. Although Ethel knows about Willoughby's traumas due to his upbringing with an abusive father, she thinks their love is enough to cure them from the hurting, and for a while he believed that too, but being more realistic than her, Willoughby starts to change the view of their relationship.
Everything comes to an end when a tornado swept through Shady Grove. On that night, at the height of his fear of the weather, Willoughby realizes he can never be the safety net Ethel expects him to be, while she is not able to help him with his struggles was she sees him only through her own necessities. Ethel ends up leaving Willoughby to go through the tornado alone while he was terrified. After the pivitol night, their relationship ends and Ethel ends up feeling guilty for leaving him in the tornado and reeling about the fact that she way have never truly known him, but she still loves him and can never love somebody else in the same way again.
Themes[]
- To be completed
In an Instagram Story talking about the second single for the album, "Fuck Me Eyes", Anhedönia stated the album touches on some "very important lessons":[5]
| “ | Writing this album about high school-age Ethel has been all about revisiting lessons I've learned, very important lessons that changed my life. | ” |
Reception[]
- To be completed
Critical Reception[]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.3/10[6] |
| Metacritic | 79/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Clash | 9/10[8] |
| DIY |  [9] |
| Dork | 4/5[10] |
| The Forty-Five |  [11] |
| The Independent | [12] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[13] |
| NME | [14] |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10[15] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
| Slant Magazine | [17] |
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You on release received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic the album received a rating of 82 out of 100 based on thirteen critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7] On AnyDecentMusic?, it received a rating of 8.2 out of 10, based on sixteen reviews.[6]
In a 80/100 review for Uncut, Michael Bonner wrote that Anhedönia has a "gifts for storytelling " describing it as "part Flannery O’Connor, part David Lynch " as well as saying the music is equally as stunning, saying it is "a mix of shoegaze, gothic country and doom metal."[18]
Commercial Performance[]
Willoughby Tucker's I'll Always Love You debuted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart on August 15, 2025. It marked Anhedönia's second top-twenty album in the United Kingdom, following Preacher's Daughter, which peaked at number 10 in April 2025.
Artwork[]
The artwork was revealed the same day as the album, and features the character Willoughby Tucker. In 2024, a photoshoot was conducted in preparation for the visual material accompanying Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You. According to the individual cast as Willoughby Tucker, Anhedönia and her team were actively seeking models to portray both Willoughby Tucker and Ethel Cain for the shoot. Andy Stone, who portrayed Tucker, stated that he applied and was accepted for the role, though the purpose of the photoshoot was not explicitly disclosed at the time. He only discovered its connection to the album after it was publicly announced. The participants were compensated for their involvement.[19]
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Photoshoot[]
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Credits[]
- Photography — Silken Weinberg
- Artwork — Hayden Anhedönia
Promotional Photoshoot[]
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.jpg "Fuck Me Eyes (Photoshoot1).jpg (581 KB)")
.jpeg "Fuck Me Eyes (Photoshoot 2).jpeg (2.16 MB)")
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Credits[]
- Photographer — Dollie Kyarn
Tracklist[]
- All tracks written and produced by Hayden Anhedönia with extra contributions by others (see Personnel section).
| Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | Janie | 5:00 |
| 2. | Willoughby's Theme | 4:44 |
| 3. | Fuck Me Eyes | 6:04 |
| 4. | Nettles | 8:03 |
| 5. | Willoughby's Interlude | 7:27 |
| 6. | Dust Bowl | 6:26 |
| 7. | A Knock At The Door | 5:24 |
| 8. | Radio Towers | 5:12 |
| 9. | Tempest | 10:00 |
| 10. | Waco, Texas | 15:15 |
| Total length: | 73:35 | |
Scrapped Tracklists[]
- To be completed
Originally the project was an EP, this EP had two separate tracklists.
| Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You (Draft Tracklist 1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | Janie | 5:00 |
| 2. | ??? | ?:?? |
| 3. | Dust Bowl | ~14:00 |
| 4. | Tempest | 10:00 |
| 5. | Waco, Texas | 20:26 |
| Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You (Draft Tracklist 2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | Janie | 5:00 |
| 2. | ??? | ?:?? |
| 3. | Dust Bowl | ~14:00 |
| 4. | Radio Towers | 5:12 |
| 5. | Tempest | 10:00 |
| 6. | Waco, Texas | 20:26 |
Outtakes[]
- Homecoming Available — Demo released on Soundcloud in 2023.
- xxxxxxxxxx Partial — Snippet of the song was posted in 2022.
- Unknown song (Louisiana) Partial — Snippet of the song was posted in 2022.
Sessions[]
During the sessions of Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You, these songs were produced and recorded, but it is unclear whether they were intended to be included on the album.
- Bambi Available — Released on Soundcloud in 2023.
Personnel[]
Credits[]
- To be completed
- Hayden Anhedönia — songwriting (all tracks), production (all tracks), vocals (all tracks), mixing (all tracks), recording engineer (track 4, 3), electric guitar (track 4), acoustic guitar (track 4, 3), bass guitar (track 4), piano (track 4), banjo (track 4), synthesizer (track 4, 3)
- Angel Diaz — additional vocals (track 9), composer (track 9)
- Ben Tanner — recording engineer (track 4)
- Bryan DeLeon — drums (track 4)
- Canaan Amber — composer (track 6)
- Clay Parton — composer (track 6)
- Dillon Hodges — acoustic guitar (track 4), banjo (track 4)
- Donny Carpenter — fiddle (track 4)
- Marlee Kula — additional vocals (track 4)
- Matthew Tomasi — composer (track 1, 10), mastering (all tracks), electric guitar (track 4, 3), drums (track 3)
- Mattias Hency — synthesizer (track 3)
- Steven Colyer — organ (track 4)
- Todd Beene — pedal steel guitar (track 4)
Publishing[]
- Where Da Kasz At? - publisher
- Daughters of Cain (via AWAL) - publisher, copyright
- The Orchard - distributor
- Rhea Pasricha - A&R administrator
References[]
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ethelcain/comments/10xa2tc/collected_information_about_upcoming_bsides/
- ↑ https://www.talkhouse.com/ethel-cain-talks-with-wicca-phase-springs-eternal-on-the-talkhouse-podcast/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ethelcain/comments/17tmgcx/hayden_confirmed_she_finished_the_bsides/
- ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/ethel-cain-new-music-interview-1234807712/
- ↑
Print from Hayden's story on her secondary Instagram account (@puerariawine).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You by Ethel Cain", AnyDecentMusic?.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You by Ethel Cain Reviews and Tracks," August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Michael Watkins, "Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, l'll Always Love You," Clash, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Ben Tipple, "Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You," DIY, August 4, 2025.
- ↑ Ciaran Picker, "Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You," Dork, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Hollie Geraghty, "Ethel Cain shares her backstory on new album 'Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You'," The Forty-Five, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Louis Chilton, "Ethel Cain’s Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You is dark and absorbing – review," The Independent, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Matthew Kim, "Ethel Cain meditates on yearning on Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You," The Line of Best Fit, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Kristen S. Hé, "Ethel Cain – ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ review: a devastating downward spiral, suffused with love," NME, August 8, 2025.
- ↑ Olivia Horn, "Ethel Cain: Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You Album Review," Pitchfork, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ Brenna Ehrlich, "Ethel Cain Goes Quietly Into the Darkness, Rolling Stone, August 6, 2025.
- ↑ Jeremy Winograd, "Ethel Cain ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ Review: Blissfully Nostalgic Indie Po," Slant Magazin, August 6, 2025.
- ↑ Michael Bonner, "Ethel Cain: Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You," Uncut, August 4, 2025.
- ↑ @andy_stonee, "I’ve never made a story time vid before lol," TikTok, June 7, 2025.
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Notes[]
- ^[a] Also known as Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You.
- ^[b] "Fuck Me Eyes" was initially written in March 2020 for Inbred, whilst "Nettles" and "Waco, Texas" were written in 2021.
| Album | |
|---|---|
| Tracklist | Janie • Willoughby's Theme • Fuck Me Eyes • Nettles • Willoughby's Interlude • Dust Bowl • A Knock At The Door • Radio Towers • Tempest • Waco, Texas |
| Non-Album | |
| Outtakes | Homecoming • xxxxxxxxxx |
| Sessions | Bambi • Louisiana |
| Related Releases | Aging Young Women • Meet Me Anywhere |
| Ethel Cain Discography | |
| Carpet Bed • Golden Age • Inbred • Preacher's Daughter • Perverts • Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You • Preacher's Wife (Upcoming) • Mother of a Preacher (Upcoming) • Unreleased Projects | |
| Media | |
|---|---|
| Albums | Preacher's Daughter • Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You • Preacher's Wife • Mother of a Preacher |
| Books | Diary of a Preacher's Daughter |
| Films | Preacher's Daughter |
| In Universe | |
| Main Characters | Ethel Cain • Vera Cain • Ethel Cain Sr. |
| Secondary Characters | Joseph Cain • Willoughby Tucker • Isaiah Abram • Logan Phelps • Janie • Holly Reddick • Shiloh Winters |
| Locations | Shady Grove |