Tonight’s show is opened by 9 million, all seven members cramming single file onto the tiny space they’ve been allocated on stage. What follows is enthusiastic and well-played grungy rock. The guitar solos and vocal harmonies are impressive and enjoyable, though the atmosphere is somewhat lacking. Whether it’s the fact members of the band are almost stacked against each other or that some of the microphones and amps don’t appear to be working properly, the band are fun but not entirely effective.

As the many members of 9 million file off stage, the staging for Ethel Cain’s performance is revealed. With a wooden, cross-shaped pulpit with a mic mounted on it as the centrepiece, the stage is framed with swamp-like branches dripping vines from above and fairy light-studded reeds below. It is the perfect setting for Ethel Cain’s southern gothic charm and sets the scene for her performance.

As the lights drop and smoke fills the stage, the band enter to pulsing green lights that go from pulsating to strobing, music drones in the background as instruments are raised. Then appears lead singer Hayden Anhedönia. Clad in a long robe with welly boots poking out the bottom they drape themselves over the pulpit, arms raised and begin a captivating performance.

The set opens with a long acoustic introduction, ‘Willoughby’s Theme’, which plunges the room into a tense, dark, synth-loaded melody. Paired with the smoke and dramatic lighting the audience are silent, bathed in an atmosphere of swampy suspense. Anhedönia’s haunting vocals appear on ‘Janie’ and instantly show her mastery over her voice and the songs she has written. Her voice is at once wispy and lilting, but incredibly powerful and she never loses the intensity of emotion throughout the entire show.

Throughout the set she remains mostly behind her pulpit, sometimes speaking to or interacting with the crowd, crawling to the ground and pulling herself up. It’s the perfect amount of interaction that allows a connection to be built with the audience without distracting from the tone and atmosphere created by the songs.

The songs are consistently complex and beautifully sung, with ‘Nettles’ and ‘Radio Towers’ weaving the witchy and guttural to create Ethel Cain’s unique sound. The majority of the songs are from the latest album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, which helps create a cohesive experience. However, the nature of the music skews a little dreamy and repetitive, making the set feel quite long as one song runs into another.

Just as the energy is waning after a series of quite similar songs, the encore resuscitates and brings the atmosphere in the room to new levels. Playing ‘Crush’, ‘Thoroughfare’ and Ethel Cain’s most popular and well known song, ‘American Teenager’, Hayden dances across the stage and leads the audience in a joyous, jumping singalong. It is the perfect ending to a challenging and beautiful set.

Ethel Cain offers a truly fascinating and beautiful performance. With dark lyrics and taboo subject matters mixed with angelic singing and crashing, chaotic acoustic pieces they offer up a truly unique and captivating experience.