Ethel Cain, Sun Bleached Flies | Bangerz N Bopz 🔥

In the 45^th edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2024), we highlight “” performed by singer/songwriter, Ethel Cain. 

Bring on the bold, fierce songs! Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 serves up background info and insight into songs of various styles, especially songs that raise eyebrows and/or stir the pot.  Featured records can be classic or brand new. In the 45^th edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2024), we break down “Sun Bleached Flies” performed by Ethel Cain.

“Sun-bleached flies sitting in the windowsill / Waiting for the day they escape,” Ethel Cain (Hayden Silas Anhedönia) sings in the first lines of the first verse of “Sun Bleached Flies”.  “Sun Bleached Flies” is the 12^th track from the trans musician’s 2022 album, Preacher’s Daughter.  Before singing, the song commences minimally with piano accompaniment.  Specifically, it sounds like an upright piano. There is a vintage, old-school aesthetic that instantly perks up the ears. Cain is the daughter of a deacon and was reared in the Southern Baptist church. While she no longer considers herself Christian, the church still plays a sizable role in her music.  It influences this conceptual project, and specifically, this song. “What I wouldn’t give to be in church this Sunday / Listening to the choir, so heartfelt, all singing,” she sings nostalgically in the first verse, adding, “God loves you, but not enough to save you.” This is thought-provoking.

“But I don’t mind ‘cause that’s how my daddy raised me (How my daddy raised me)

If they strike once then you just hit ‘em twice as hard

But I always knew that in the end, no one was coming to save me

So, I just prayed, and I keep praying and praying and praying.”

“Sun Bleached Flies” is a complex, deep record. From the conceptual perspective of Preacher’s Daughter, this is a reflective song from Ethel (also, the protagonist), who appears to be deceased. Revisit other songs from the LP, such as “A House in Nebraska” (referenced in this song) and “Ptolemaea”, and there’s more backstory and clarity. From the beginning, Cain sings authentically and expressively.  You buy what she is selling, particularly the most personal lyrics. The songwriting is stupendous. “And I spend my life watching it go by from the sidelines,” she sings in the second verse, adding, “And God, I’ve tried, but I think it’s about time I put up a fight.” After initial accompaniment by piano, the instrumental expands including the organ. Additionally, Cain receives support from background vocals. As the sub-eight-minute cut progresses, it grows grander and more dynamic. Even without the context of the concept, “Sun Bleached Flies” explores life, specifically trauma, love, and religion. T 

Ethel Cain // Preacher’s Daughter // Daughters of Cain // 2022

Ethel Cain, Sun Bleached Flies: Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 No. 45 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Daughters of Cain; cottonbro studio, Harry Shelton, Kool Shooters, Lucas Pazeta, Mavluda Tashbaeva, Teddy Yang, Wesley Souza from Pexels]