Lesbianism seems a particularly prevalent theme in the songs across both early EPs. Further, there is an investigation in female characters across the songs by both the female and male singer. This is relevant largely in safia jane.
There is a distinctive difference, however, in the depictions of love performed by the singers. 'safia had a little lamb' is rather demeaning of the singer who states "my true companion is Safia, we eat together, we teach at the same university, we seek each other's advice and opinion, it is Safia who I describe my life to", with the cliche of the tune 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'. This alludes to the diminishing of lesbian relationships, particularly because these lines are followed by the insulting remark "i don't have any female friends". The female singer truly worships her love interest and frankly addresses the fact she hospitalised her for drug addiction. This is the moment at which her vocal range reaches the highest notes of its register, almost resembling a cry or a scream. This is a considerately performed song about the silencing inherent to lesbian identities, no matter how vocal the individual is about her lesbianism. I also notice the final lyric is cut on "she came out", evidencing the silencing of the lesbian identity. A limitation in perceived expression which diminishes the importance of love.
Significantly, there is also a rather humorous description of a man with "rice in his pockets", suggesting a ridiculousness to the male identity. The song is layered with irony, perhaps suggesting a juvenile relationship between two women.
I won't go into much detail about 'The Wife A-Lost' (performed by female speaker) as the lyrics are largely incoherent. However, this is a poem about loss. It is also read in an unusual accent, again shadowing the significance of Sapphic identities. The expression of love in both songs explores an awareness of how these identities are perceived by others: as unserious, unusual, and unrelatable. Again, the singer is very honouring, although the poem is written from the male perspective.
In 'jane', the singer (male) has to declare his words are that of love: "these are my love words Janey". He is unable to stay on the topic of Janey, instead mentioning a second character, Nancy, who suggests love is irrelevant to the process of conception. He sings "I can't help it", as though discussion of another woman is unpreventable, biological, even. I perhaps respect this perspective on love because there is a biology to male expressions of love - we are programmed to reproduce as much as possible. In comparison, 'safia had a little lamb' is rather juvenile, and 'jane' more honest. The track ends with spoken words "No one can hurt me as much as you can Jane / Honey, I'm stone in love with you/ Since we ever swapped sex looks you blew me away / My happiest thing, Jane, is you". The singer depicts how sex is deeply relevant to romantic relationships. I note the euphemism on "you blew me away", suggesting copulation is a fundamental intimacy to any relationship. This contrasts 'safia', with it's rather innocent depiction of a relationship. However, this could also cover a greater theme about the desexualisation of lesbian relationships, and therefore the failure to accurately perceive the identity.
The exploration of female identity in the tracks depicts the alternative mindsets men and women have about women. The girl respectfully discusses women, neglecting the carnal side, de-objectifying women. The man discusses the nature of masculinity and finds evidence for why lust is sometimes a greater force than love.
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