Earlier this year, Hayden Anhedönia released a six-track EP titled Inbred as Ethel Cain. She then released a really cool video for her epic single “God’s Country,” and now we get another cool visual from the rising Florida musician for her song “Crush.”
In the self-directed video, Cain rocks blue eyeshadow and hair rollers, turning dated American clichés into timeless, sexy accessories. She checks herself out in the mirror, and then scoffs at herself. She stares down a Jesus portrait while smoking a cigarette. She watches Harmony Korine’s Gummo. It’s classic and American, but it’s not polished—it’s far from a suburban housewife fantasy. That’s sort of the magic of Cain, flipping familiar American iconography into images both dark and endearing.
“I wanted to make a video as experimental (for myself) as ‘Crush’ was musically,” she shared. “I had been playing with this new little handycam that I bought and I just loved the weird look of it. My sister and I were moving out of the church we lived in and stuff was just everywhere and I thought it to be kind of perfect.
“We just ran around our house and the little town we lived in for three days and shot some fun footage that I felt matched the vibe of the song,” she continued. “The song doesn’t take itself too seriously so I wanted the video to embody that. No glitz, no glam, bad makeup. I felt very sexy and silly running down the road barefoot with half my hair up in curlers. Lil Cuyler and Marlboro Reds forever.” Ethel Cain, a.k.a our new American heartthrob.
Watch the video for “Crush” below.
