Watch Ethel Cain Perform New Songs & Cover “Bette Davis Eyes” In Paris
It’s been a couple of years since great American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain released her debut album Preacher’s Daughter, and she’s recently been dropping new tracks in unconventional fashion, posting “من النهر,” a song for Palestine, on SoundCloud and an as-yet-untitled joint on Instagram. Cain kicked off a short European tour earlier this week, and she’s been singing more unreleased songs live onstage.
Ethel Cain’s Eurotrip kicked off Monday night at Le Trianon in Paris. She took the stage in a veil and opened her set with “Dust Bowl,” a song that she’s performed live a bunch of times but never released. Later on, she did “Amber Waves,” which she debuted at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona last month, and she performed the long and meditative new track “Punish” live for the first time.
During her encores, Ethel Cain covered “Bette Davis Eyes,” a song first released by Jackie DeShannon in 1974. Most of us know that song because of the iconic Kim Carnes version, the biggest hit of 1981 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cain’s version was clearly based on the Kim Carnes recording, and it fit very nicely into her whole approach. It’s worth noting that Cain sang her encores while wearing a white T-shirt and some basketball shorts — in Paris — which shows commendable amounts of swag. One intrepid fan posted pretty much the entire set on YouTube, and you can watch the new songs and the “Bette Davis Eyes” cover below.
Gotta say: A new Ethel Cain record would be very welcome right about now. She’ll be at London’s Roundhouse tonight.