Introducing Vera Ellen’s third single ‘Crack the Whip’. Vera wrote most of this song when she came back to New Zealand from LA at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was feeling a bit of whiplash from moving countries. I was reflecting a lot on the motions of life, the wheel of fortune and coming to accept that our efforts to control anything are charmingly futile.”
Lyrically it's a mash up of different points of Vera feeling homesick for New Zealand; when she was missing the nature and culture and people. “I used to work at this pop up called "wonderworld" on Hollywood Boulevard. No one would ever come in so I would just stand at the counter and look out the window wondering why the hell I came here.”
LISTEN TO ‘CRACK THE WHIP’ HERE
The accompanying video is made up from home video footage from Wellington Zoo in 1997, and features Vera Ellen, her brother Albert River (who features heavily on the upcoming album, and is also in Vera’s live band), and their Nana. These images are intercut with footage of familiar sights from Vera’s current LA residence; Hollywood and Santa Monica beach.
“My brother and I are very close and we have always had this way of protecting each other. The video kind of turned into a homage to our bond and the deep sadness of being apart.“