Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
2025 studio album by Ethel Cain From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter and record producer Ethel Cain. It was released by her independent record label Daughters of Cain on August 8, 2025, as her second release of the year, following the standalone recording Perverts (2025). The lyrical narrative present in Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You serves as the prequel to Cain's debut album, Preacher's Daughter (2022). The singles "Nettles" and "Fuck Me Eyes" preceded the album in June and July 2025, respectively.
Upon its release, Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You was met with critical acclaim and debuted within the top-10 on the main charts of Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland. To promote the album, Cain is embarking on the Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour, which passes through North America, Europe and Australia between August 2025 and February 2026.
Remove ads
Background
In 2022, Ethel Cain released her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter, which garnered her critical acclaim and a cult following.[3] In interviews published at the end of the year, she revealed that she was working on an extended play (EP) serving as a prequel to the album's narrative.[4] She stated that it would be centered on the main character's teenage years and her romance with Willoughby, a man who the track "A House in Nebraska" was written about.[5]
Cain shared demos of new songs on SoundCloud, which The Line of Best Fit believed would be part of a release containing B-sides scrapped from Preacher's Daughter.[6] Speaking with Kiernan Shipka for Interview, the singer stated that she was trying to finish the project to release it later in 2023.[7] In 2024, the publication Stereogum reported that Cain would be releasing an EP soon after containing the B-sides, under the title Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You.[8]
Remove ads
Concept and themes
The fictional story from Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You serves as a prequel to the narrative from Preacher's Daughter.[9] It begins in 1986,[10] five years before the start of the events from the previous album.[11] Cain described it as "the year everything changed forever".[12]
Release and promotion
Cain announced Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You on social media on March 24, 2025.[13] Alongside the announcement of the album, she revealed that she would be embarking on the Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour between August and November 2025 throughout North America and Europe.[14] Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You was revealed to be set for release in August 2025.[9] Originally described as a companion EP, it eventually became Cain's second studio album.[15] On May 28, 2025, Cain announced the album's lead single, "Nettles", which was released on June 4, 2025.[16] Along with the release of the single, the specific release date of the album was revealed to be August 8, 2025.[17] A second single, "Fuck Me Eyes", was released on July 2, 2025.[18] On July 7, 2025, Cain shared its track listing via social media.[19]
Critical reception
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You has received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a rating of 83 out of 100 based on seventeen critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[21] Similarly, on AnyDecentMusic?, it received a rating of 8.3 out of 10, based on twenty-one reviews.[20]
Remove ads
Commercial performance
Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You debuted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart on August 15, 2025. It became Cain's second top-twenty album in the United Kingdom after Preacher's Daughter reached a peak of number 10 in April 2025.[30]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Hayden Anhedönia, except where noted.
Sample credit
- "Dust Bowl" contains an interpolation of "Stars Will Fall", performed by Duster and written by members Canaan Dove Amber and Clay Parton.[31]
Remove ads
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.[32]
- Hayden Anhedönia – lead vocals, production, mixing, engineering (all tracks); synthesizer (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8–10), background vocals (1, 4), piano (2, 6), banjo (4), acoustic guitar (7)
- Matthew Tomasi – mastering (all tracks), electric guitar (1–5), background vocals (1), production (2), drums (6, 9, 10)
- Mattias Hency – synthesizer (3)
- Dillon Hodges – banjo (4)
- Bryan De Leon – drums (4)
- Danny Carpenter – fiddle (4)
- Steve Colyer – organ (4)
- Todd Beene – additional guitar (4)
- Angel Diaz – additional guitar (6, 10); background vocals, piano (9)
Remove ads
Charts
Remove ads
Release history
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads