In life, there are things we have control over. The things we can’t control are lessons and should be treated as such. Unraveling life’s twists and unruly turns, singer and songwriter Elizabeth Moen explores our compulsive ways and the mystique of it all on “Creature of Habit.”
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“I’ve realized there are only certain things I have control of in life and I gotta just keep growing, healing, and learning,” Moen tells American Songwriter. “These songs helped me while I wrote them in quarantine.”
Just one of the tracks off Moen’s upcoming EP of the same name, out December 11, “Creature of Habit” toils in thicker synth and ambient overtones, a shift from the Iowa singer-songwriter’s previous, more acoustic-led pieces.
Following up 2018’s A Million Miles Away, Creature of Habit addresses mental health and finding balance. Moving in with her therapist aunt, Moen found herself trying to understand how we tend to revert back to comforting, and often detrimental, habits—or individuals.
“Creature of Habit” also unmasks Moen’s vulnerability, perhaps a response to living in and making art during quarantine and the changing times. Everything is reflective. Slow pulsed and moody in its motion, “Creature of Habit” moves at its own pace. Grasping the grievances of the lyrics, Moen’s thick vocals slither through her pleading I wish I had another face in front of mine / I wish I had some other way to pass the time / I wish I were in love then I’d have something to do / I wish I had someone to pay attention to.
“I’ve never really toyed with DAWs, keys, or synthesizers until this song,” shares Moen. “I’ve always been a guitarist, but I wanted to explore new sounds while I looked into my thought patterns and tendencies.”
Whether a creature of habit or not, life as we know it is constantly shifting, and Moen is still finding her place in all its intricacies.
“There are lots of parts of us that people think can’t coexist but they do,” says Moen. “We’re all fierce and vulnerable, happy and sad, right and wrong, serious and silly. In my music, I’m searching for all of those things and finding a balance of what I actually am.”
