Ethel Cain review – a sublime rejection of pop stardom from the shadows

O2 Apollo, Manchester
Bathed in darkness and backed by a formidable band, the Florida singer-songwriter turns her brooding southern gothic into a mesmerising, slow-burn spectacle

In a recent interview, Hayden Anhedönia, the 27-year-old Florida artist known professionally as Ethel Cain, admitted that she had struggled with her position in pop. It’s not that she isn’t a fan of the genre, she said, but rather that the nature of modern-day fandom meant the dark subject matter embedded in her music wasn’t always taken seriously: “At the end of the day, you make what you make … and people can do what they want with it.”

Anhedönia isn’t the first artist to balk at pop stardom, although few would use that resistance as the primary fuel for their live show. But after appearing on stage tonight during the churning opener of Willoughby’s Theme, it’s quickly apparent she is eschewing the spotlight – quite literally. For almost the entirety of the show’s 90 minutes, she is bathed in shadows, her frame lit mostly from behind, her face never truly visible. There’s no onstage chat, aside from reminders to the overheated crowd to ask for water, and she remains static, standing back on the stage behind a mic stand shaped like a cross, as if delivering a sermon.