Hayden Silas Anhedönia inspires a level of devotion reserved for pop icons. Idolised by a fandom who obsess over every detail of her dark catalogue as Ethel Cain, the Tallahassee-raised singer’s presence at the Eventim Apollo was greeted by the sort of ear-shredding screams and fainting spells last seen at The Eras Tour. Nothing too remarkable about that, you might think, until you consider the kind of art Anhedönia creates.
Steeped in the Southern Gothic and underpinned by an impressively gruesome lore, her songs set tales of abuse, cannibalism and incest to a blend of eerie post-rock, ambient music and deeply dolorous Americana. Her first album of 2025 was a pitch-black drone dirge named Perverts; her second was an ambitious, 73-minute epic entitled Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, pairing bleakly beautiful folk-rock with atmospheric slowcore. Doesn’t sound like the recipe for a rager, but in the flesh it was a revelation.
Silhouetted amongst swirling dry ice and using a crucifix as a mic stand, Anhedönia made for an elusive yet compelling focal point. Stationed in the four corners of a stage festooned with weeping willows, her band added an intimidating amount of muscle to arrangements. The soaring powerballad ‘Fuck Me Eyes’ arrived powered by bludgeoning percussion, and ‘Dust Bowl’ utilised arresting post-rock dynamics. ‘Onanist’ applied a scorched earth approach with its wall of serrated noise, while the haunting sprawl of ‘Waco, Texas’ built to a truly almighty crescendo.
Throughout, the clarity of Anhedönia’s supple vocals proved the perfect foil for the brutal sonics, adding some much-needed tenderness to tales that often embraced the worst of humanity. She sounded particularly transcendent on ‘A House In Nebraska’, her voice soaring over portentous piano chords, and on the banjo-flecked folk of ‘Nettles’. Venturing into the spotlight for the encore, she even allowed herself a smile during breakout hit ‘American Teenager’, as she pogoed at the front of the stage, mic in hand.
With four more sell-out shows to play at the Apollo this week, Anhedönia could easily have packed out an arena instead. For now, it seems she’s content to cling on to her cult status – even if her ever-expanding fanbase has other ideas.
