Tori Forsyth ProfileHad you heard of “grunge country” before Tori Forsyth started describing her music under that label? Probably not.
With her new album, Self Preservation, out today, the Australian singer-songwriter blends the country influences of her previous records with her love for rockier artists like Deftones, Paramore, and classic grunge acts such as Alice in Chains and Nirvana. It doesn’t sound like a combination that makes sense, but under Forsyth’s lead, it’s perfectly normal.
Ahead of the album’s release, Forsyth teased her latest collection of music with the singles I’m Not God, Notice the Roses, You and Me, Guns and Little Girls, and Today I Woke Up and Chose Violence.
It’s her most personal record to date, with trauma such as the loss of her dog, a major health scare for her dad, and the end of a long-term romantic relationship all informing where she takes these songs.
Self Preservation, the follow-up to her ARIA Award-nominated 2024 album, All We Have Is Who We Are, is written entirely by Tori, and along with the experiences outlined above, she uses her latest record to question, reflect, and sit with uncomfortable truths about humankind, religion, mental health, capitalism and belief.
The album was recorded over a two-week stint at the Grove Studios with her longtime producer, Scott Horscroft (Silverchair, Paul Kelly, Birds of Tokyo), as well as her longtime bandmates: guitarist Matthew Newton, bassist Zachary Miller, and drummer Reece Baines. Andy Mak also plays keys throughout the record.
Discussing the album, Forsyth said, “This record is about the preservation of our souls. It’s realising that life is a cycle and there is no finish line once you move through a hard thing. It’s more of a continual death and rebirth, and if you fight your own death, it only makes it harder to be reborn.
“It’s also learning that death isn’t final; it’s a requirement of being born again into something radically new. And sometimes that looks a little fractured, a little ugly, but the result is always fortifying and necessary. Preservation of self doesn’t mean clinging to past versions of ourselves and hoping they survive death; it’s allowing what must die to die and keeping intact the only thing we take with us, on our one final death, which is our souls.”
To celebrate the release of Self Preservation, Tori Forsyth has guided Countrytown through the album, track by track.
Self Preservation – Tori Forsyth goes Track by Track
1. I’m Not God
I'm Not God stemmed from feeling at odds with where I was personally. Knowing the belief in yourself that you need to carry in order to do what you set out to do, and coming to terms with the fact that the only person who's in control of that is you, was sobering.
The song is my experience of the world around me whilst trying to do exactly that and looking for the little things that show humanity and compassion for others and ourselves. Belief isn’t limited to faith; it can be believing in yourself, believing in something bigger, or even as a core value system. Collecting those moments where I could see that belief culminated in this song.
2. Notice The Roses
Notice The Roses follows a similar ethos. Admittedly, I can be a bit of a cynical person if I don't make a conscious effort, but I soon noticed a shift in my mindset and found myself trying to become the person I needed. I was able to see things for what they were and appreciate the little joys in life, and I wanted to capture that because, for the first time, I think my cynicism tamed out a bit.
3. You And Me
You and Me is the first love song I’ve ever written. It’s about a past long-term relationship and those shared moments and goals we had of eventually wanting to slow down, be more present in our lives and relationship, and holding onto hope and the light at the end of the tunnel when things felt heavy and difficult.
4. Guns And Little Girls
Guns and Little Girls is about the absurdity the internet has turned into. Everything online is essentially free and for sale at the same time, and learning how to operate as an artist in that space is like navigating a minefield.
The line "Tell me now, am I influencing, are you listening, or are you dispensing?" leans into the idea that we're constantly putting out shit to appease an algorithm that doesn't really care about us, and no one's engaging with it anymore either because everyone's being absolutely inundated.
We're all so attached to a machine right now that we can't see outside of it. And I'm totally guilty of that too, but it’s sad because I used to love the internet; it used to be a place for expression and creativity, but now I think it's a place to just sell things.
5. Greener Pastures
Greener Pastures is another reminder to myself to go out and touch the grass. It was written on a Sunday morning at home, and as someone who is always working towards achieving something, simply being still and soaking in the slowness was incredibly grounding. So, I wanted to capture that feeling and essence of a slow Sunday morning.
6. First Born Daughters Are The Toughest Damn Sons
It’s become a trope how first-born daughters are tough; they cop the brunt of a lot of situations, and it’s true that if you want someone to do a job well, you get a first-born daughter to do it. They experienced the world differently.
For me, my outlook on the world was very much shaped by a male lens when it came to things like responsibility, resilience, and strength. Growing up, it sort of felt like I was expected to be a son just as much as I was a daughter.
7. Dear Me
Normally, when I write songs, I sit down, and it’s a very intentional process, but this one was different. I woke up one morning at 3:00 am and the line “Dear me, what kind of woman do you want to be?” was in my head, so I rolled over and wrote it down. Throughout the next day, I penned down all the thoughts I had about myself, and it turned into this song, so it’s quite a personal reflection of my life and how I see it.
There’s a line towards the end, "you've built many new walls since 2016", and if you've been following me for a long time, you'll understand what that means.
8. Today I Woke Up and Chose Violence
Today I Woke Up and Chose Violence is a bit of a feminist rage anthem. I’m fed up with being treated a certain way as a woman. I want to be loud, and I want to be messy. I wrote this for the girls who want to rage against the machine.
Knowing that being a woman means you're probably going to feel the repercussions of your actions that a male in your position wouldn't, this song is about saying fuck it and doing it anyway.
9. Satan In a Sunday Hat
This one honestly started out as a bit of a joke. I was rewatching True Blood, and there's this character who’s an alcoholic who turns to Jesus, and in this episode, she said, "Well, now she's just Satan in a Sunday hat." Essentially meaning someone who goes to church but still does stupid shit.
I feel like I teeter on that line too. On one hand, I can be outspoken, loud or even abrasive. And on the other, I'm quite introverted and find comfort in the quiet at home. And I’ve come to realise both things can be true.
I’ve always been drawn to nostalgia, for things and places that maybe I never experienced first-hand, but somehow still feel connected to them. And at the same time, I can be a bit of a rogue agent surrounded by chaos, and this song is poking fun at that side of myself.
10. Nothing Wrong with Me
Possibly the most thought-provoking song on the album, Nothing Wrong with Me is about that feeling like you're going insane. There's been so many times in my life where I've blamed everyone else, only to reach a point where I'm like, "Well, maybe I'm the problem here," and questioning if I'm thinking clearly or if I've completely lost perspective.
I went down a bit of a rabbit hole and started thinking about how a lot of religious people attribute evil to the devil, and I found that really interesting. The more I’m learning about it, the more I’m questioning, "Is the devil already on Earth?" When you look at the evil that’s already going on in the world, and then you think hell is supposed to be worse than that, God help us all.
It’s pretty dark stuff that we're experiencing as humanity, and I see a lot of discourse about it being actual evil, which I find really fascinating, and so this song taps into that idea as well.
Self Preservation is out now via Island Records Australia.
