Punish

"Punish" is a song by American singer-songwriter and record producer Ethel Cain, from her upcoming EP, 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 EP's lead single. A folk and drone track influenced by ambient music, "Punish" is led by a piano instrumental and a 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. Prior to its release, Cain included "Punish" to the set list for The Childish Behaviour Tour (2024). 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. The Fader's Sandra Song described the performance as exquisite and slow-moving, "full of pensive melancholy", while Stereogum's Tom Breihan found it "long and meditative". On October 14, 2024, she announced the release of "Punish", along with revealing the release date of the EP Perverts for January 8, 2025, which was first teased on social media with grainy and black-and-white pictures. Cain also shared the cover artwork for the lead single, which features a photo of herself and a ring above her head. "Punish" was released on November 1, 2024, along with an accompanying dark, black-and-white music video directed by Cain and Silken Weinberg. "Punish" is six minutes and 47 seconds long. It was written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Cain, while Dale Becker was in charge of its mastering. Musically, it is a folk and drone song, with elements of industrial and ambient music. Its production is in line with the EP's more experimental and texture-driven style than her previous releases. Led by a piano instrumental, it incorporates electric guitars as the song gradually builds. The theme of "Punish" is an exploration of shame, portraying a woman who is "punished by love". 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?". The song has been described by music critics as slow, delicate, and dark. In Cain's Tumblr, she explained more about the concept of "Punish": "punish is about a pedophile who was shot by the child’s father and now lives in exile where he physically maims himself to simulate the bullet wound in order to punish himself. at least that’s what i had in mind i wrote it. the song can be whatever you want it to be." In a five-star review, NME's Kristen S. Hé described "Punish" as a "devastating" and "brutally beautiful introduction" to Perverts, comparing it to "sinking into an ice bath" and saying that the lyrics' "vagueness only makes them more unnerving". Writing for Clash, Robin Murray opined that the song "illustrates how gripping, and how emotionally redolent her work can be", and it "acts as musical therapy, stripping away the layers of dirt on her life". Magazines Rolling Stone, Paper, and The New York Times added "Punish" to their list of Best New Music of its release week. "Punish" was compared by Pitchfork's Meaghan Garvey to the sound of Ruins by American musician Grouper and the works of Midwife, who describes her music as "heaven metal".

[Verse 1] Whatever's wrong with me I will take to bed I give in so easy Nature chews on me Little death like lead Poisonous and heavy It has always been this way It has always been this way [Chorus] I am punished by love I am punished by love [Verse 2] In the morning I will mar myself again He was a natural Plauché, saying "You won't forget this" Shame is sharp, and my skin gives so easy Only God knows, only God would believe That I was an angel, but they made me leave They made me leave [Chorus] I am punished by love I am punishеd by love I am punished by love I am punishеd by love