"Punish" is a song by American singer-songwriter and record producer Ethel Cain, from her upcoming second studio album, Perverts (2025). She wrote, produced, recorded, and mixed the track herself, which was mastered by Dale Becker. It was released on November 1, 2024, as the album's lead single. A folk, drone, and ambient track influenced by industrial music, "Punish" is led by a piano instrumental and an experimental production, containing electric guitars as it gradually builds. Lyrically, the song deals with an exploration of shame.
An accompanying black-and-white music video for "Punish", directed by Cain and her frequent collaborator Silken Weinberg, premiered on the same date. Music critics received the song positively, praising it as an introduction to Perverts. Prior to its release, Cain included "Punish" to the set list for The Childish Behaviour Tour (2024).
Background and release
Ethel Cain debuted "Punish" before its release at Le Trianon in Paris on June 3, 2024, as part of the European leg of The Childish Behaviour Tour, her third concert tour.[1]The Fader's Sandra Song described the performance as exquisite and slow-moving, "full of pensive melancholy",[2] while Stereogum's Tom Breihan found it "long and meditative".[1] On October 14, 2024, she announced the release of "Punish", along with revealing the release date of the album Perverts for January 8, 2025, which was first teased on social media with grainy and black-and-white pictures.[3] Cain also shared the cover artwork for the lead single, which features a photo of herself and a ring above her head.[4] "Punish" was released on November 1, 2024, along with an accompanying dark, black-and-white music video directed by Cain and Silken Weinberg.[5] On November 11, Cain revealed the track listing for Perverts, which includes "Punish" as the second track.[6]
The theme of "Punish" is an exploration of shame,[17] portraying a woman who is "punished by love".[18] In a press release regarding the song, Cain said: "I wonder how deep shame can run, and how unforgivable an act could be that I may still justify it in some bent way to make carrying it more bearable. Would I tell myself it's not my fault and I couldn’t help myself? Would anyone truly believe that? Would I?".[19] The song has been described by music critics as slow, delicate, and dark.[20]
Reception
Music critics praised "Punish" for being a "devastating", "brutally beautiful", "haunting and honest" introduction to Perverts.[18][21] In a five-star review, NME's Kristen S. Hé compared it to "sinking into an ice bath" and said that the lyrics' "vagueness only makes them more unnerving".[18] Writing for Clash, Robin Murray opined that the song "illustrates how gripping, and how emotionally redolent her work can be", and that it "acts as musical therapy, stripping away the layers of dirt on her life".[17]Rolling Stone, Paper, The New York Times, and Stereogum added "Punish" to their lists of the best new music of its release week.[22][9][15][23] It was ranked at number 19 on Dazed's listicle of the best tracks released in 2024.[24]Billboard named it one of the best LGBTQ pride songs of the year, with the magazine's Joe Lynch expressing his approval for Cain's live performances of the song and saying that they "hit hard".[25]
The song was the subject of comparisons to several artists. Pitchfork's Meaghan Garvey saw it reminiscent to the sound of Ruins (2014) by American musician Grouper, and the works of Midwife, who describes her music as "heaven metal".[26]The Fader's David Renshaw interpreted it as a mix between Grouper and Lana Del Rey.[11]Uproxx writer Grant Sharples believed that with "Punish", Cain expressed the same sincerity and "deep conviction in herself and her art" of her previous effort Preacher's Daughter (2022).[27]
