| "Crush" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Ethel Cain | ||||
| from the EP Inbred | ||||
| Released | March 18, 2021 | |||
| Length | 3:24 | |||
| Label | Daughters of Cain | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Hayden Silas Anhedönia | |||
| Producer(s) | Ethel Cain | |||
| Ethel Cain singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Crush" on YouTube | ||||
"Crush" is a song recorded, written and produced by American singer Ethel Cain. It was released on March 18, 2021, as the second single from her third extended play (EP) titled Inbred, which was released the following month.
Background and music videos
Cain started 2021 by releasing the single "Michelle Pfeiffer" and announcing her third extended play, Inbred.[1] A month after, she announced and released the second single, "Crush". A self-directed visualizer was published alongside the song.[2] A music video for the song was released on August 3, 2021. She directed it along with her sister, Salem. "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", said the singer.[3] She also stated that she wanted to make a video "as experimental as 'Crush' was musically".[4]
A stripped version of the song was released on September 24, 2021. The music video for the song, directed by Anhedönia and shot by her sister, sees Cain joined by Dan Geraghty of Twenty One Pilots on a trampoline, being filmed on a home-movie style.[5]
Theme and style
In a press release, about the theme of the song, Ethel Cain said:
I really had no business at 16 having week-long relationships with random 23-year-old drifter students but at the time I just thought they were so cool. You know, the deadbeat stoner skater boys who definitely weren’t making it over the county line. It was out of total innocence that I ever envisioned a future with them but damn it if I didn’t daydream about them all the same. Good men die too, and all that.[6]
Cain gained popularity with the single, which is more of a pop song than her usual alternative style. She talked about her "fear" of making pop music, saying that "once you make pop music, your other genres won't be taken as seriously", but "she has worked to make the music she wants".[7]
References
- ↑ Jae Leiber, Sarah (February 11, 2021). "Ethel Cain Announces 'Inbred' EP". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ↑ Pappis, Konstantinos (March 18, 2021). "Ethel Cain Unveils New Single 'Crush'". Our Culture. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ↑ Moran, Justin (August 3, 2021). "Ethel Cain's 'Crush' Video Is a Small Town Fantasy". Paper Mag. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ↑ Farrell, Margaret (August 3, 2021). "Ethel Cain Makes Blue Eyeshadow and Hair Rollers Timeless in her "Crush" Video". Flood Magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ↑ Ward, Steven (August 25, 2021). "Ethel Cain shares eviscerating rework of "Crushed" (stripped) — announces intimate LA gig at El Cid". Grimy Goods. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ↑ Bloom, Madison (March 18, 2021). "Ethel Cain Shares New Song "Crush": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ↑ Leasure, Haylee (June 30, 2023). "Haylee's Hub: Ethel Cain's 'Preacher's Daughter' is a life-changing album". The Post. Retrieved December 28, 2023.