Shed a tear for the plot
You soon forgot
That failed according to plan
The object of your designs
Was undefined
Before it even began
Act now
Wait
Deliberate
Suggested Actions
Rewind the tape
Hesitate
Post-Haste
Take your time...
Cross your hear for the ploy
Of some worn-out decoy
Whose scheme has come to an end
The subject of your esteem
This splintered dream
Has somehow slipped from your hands
Pause
Rest Assured
Secure in your foregone conclusions
Brace for the consequence
Waiting just out of the frame...
Act now / Wait
Act now / Deliberate
Act now / Aahhhhhh
Sing a song of the costs
Adjusted loss
Some bittersweet dividend
A hymn to your defeat
Held aloft
And left on endless repeat...
"Suggested Actions" is the first EP from Whipping Girl, a self-produced electro-pop duo from Brooklyn comprised of Isobel Morris (Vocals/Instruments) and Matt Sweeney (Instruments/Etc).
The title track will appear on Whipping Girl's forthcoming debut album Find + Replace. The bulk of the album - like our earlier "Reticence Cliff" single -deals lyrically with Isobel's recent transition from male to female.
But this song's meaning is more universal.
The songs contained herein are a combination of: Matt and Isobel's acoustic, electric, and electronic instrumentation; Isobel's soaring vocals; and an almost pathalogical desire on the part of the group to experiment and go off-course, finding musical and technological diversions around every corner which (ideally) lead to unique sounds and feelings.
The title track "Suggested Actions" will appear on Whipping Girl's forthcoming debut LP, Find + Replace. The other three tracks are remixes and variations on the title track, like Adam's Rib taken to form Eve.
Some parts - like track 3, "Recommended Initiatives," are mere extensions of the musical and lyrical themes from "Suggested Actions," whilst others, notably tracks 2 and 4, go off-piste and become their own, fully individuated songs.
Lyrically, "Suggested Actions" deals with that most human of facets - trying and failing. Isobel's lyrics examine the many, many ways we try, ad fail, and try, and fail: to err is human, after all.
This theme - of trying and failing - has become unexpectedly and unfortunately relevant in the week between the upset of the 2016 election and this release.
Whipping Girl had originally subtitled the EP 'A Hymn To Your Defeat,' after a line in two of the songs, and we hoped that this would take on a positive meaning after the election; but since we are not celebrating defeat, the subtitle was switched to "Defeat Hymns."
After all, we humans have had battle hymns for eons... but we all have to learn how to deal with defeat.
credits
released November 14, 2016
Produced and Mixed by Isobel Morris & Matt Sweeney
Vocals by Isobel • Instrumentation by Isobel & Matt
Composed by Isobel & Matt • Lyrics by Isobel
Cover artwork by Catherine Geras.
Thanks to: Danielle McNicholas, Kevin Allstadt, Jordan Tierney, David Martinez, Alissandra Gabriella, Neill MacCallum for your support and for lending your virgin ears - and opinions - to our songs :)
Special thanks to: Anne Zurlo, Willard (WW), and our families for being wonderful, encouraging people.
And many thanks to Catherine Geras for creating the beautiful artwork for our current album cycle - this EP, the single "Reticence Cliff," and the forthcoming album Find + Replace. You are a singular talent!
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