Following the release of her mind-bending ambient EP Perverts in January, Ethel Cain has announced the official follow-up to her 2022 debut album Preacher’s Daughter, titled Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You. The album announcement coincides with Cain’s birthday today (March 24), and its August release date will be accompanied by a tour across Europe and North America.

Continuing the cryptic, lore-heavy trend of her previous releases, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You appears to reference Cain’s fictional first boyfriend, who featured as a character in the Preacher’s Daughter story arc. While recent release Perverts was stated to fall outside of the established Ethel Cain lore, the new announcement has led many to expect that the upcoming project will return to the narrative arc established in Preacher’s Daughter. 

“Before everything, there was you. 1986, the year everything changed forever,” Cain wrote on Instagram alongside the announcement, followed by the letters ‘♡ W + E ♡’, presumably standing for Willoughby and Ethel. The album artwork features a sepia-toned picture of a young man sitting in a woodland area, with what appears to be Cain next to him.

The international tour, meanwhile, will feature dates across North America and Europe from August 2025 until November. The announcement post on Instagram also stated that Cain will be partnering with LGBTQ+ charity The Ally Coalition for the tour, with $1 from every ticket sale being donated to organisations committed to serving the trans community.