I’m sure we can all agree, 2020 has been a crazy year. I’ve gotten to the point where nothing really surprises me anymore. So when I heard Hunter Valley country-rock act Tori Forsyth had covered Lil Peep and XXXTENTACION’s track “Falling Down,” I didn’t ask myself why. I asked myself why not?
Tori was inspired to cover the track after watching the documentary, “Everybody’s Everything.”
“After watching the documentary about the life of Lil Peep his story left me incredibly moved but also incredibly sad. Some of the greatest minds can burden the bodies they inhabit,” she admitted. “We’ve seen the story, it’s much too common and my heart goes out to his family and loved ones. Some of my most favourite artists have taken the same path. Have written the story of the all too overwhelming mind to try to ease that pain through substance. Mental illness is such a confronting and all too real reality for so many artists. A topic that hurts and cuts deep. I’m a huge advocate for talking and normalising this conversation, hopefully so much so that by the time I have a daughter or a son, mental health is just another thing we get checked on regularly like a casual dentist looks over.”
Strangely this cover feels really natural, but she certainly had her reservations about taking this song on.
“Recording a Lil Peep song is something completely out of my comfort zone but as Covid19 would have it, this is a theme of the year. Myself Zach (Miller, her bandmate and producer) and Reece (Baines, drummer) all contributed from corners of the country and globe to bring this to life. My first engineering experience was done in my bedroom closet and a lot of makeshift swaps. Lil Peep’s ethos was to always be creating and making and collaborating. We live in a world of high demands and forget that making music is fun, because it moves, because it evokes something. This is the only way I create music. Full Stop. This whole story moved me and in turn pushed us to create something that moved us as a team. I hope you like it and remember that there’s always help and someone to talk to no matter where you are mentally.”
I’ve always believed that there’s no point delivering a cover that’s a carbon copy of the original. You need to bring something new to the game, or what’s the point? I wasn’t familiar with the Lil Peep track, but going back to it after hearing Tori’s grungy take made me appreciate her work even more. This is a total, spectacular reinvention.
Image used with permission from Island Records Australia