Clocking in at just over two and a half minutes, “Disrupt”, the latest track from Eora/Sydney alt-rock act PENI PARKER packs a real punch. With its vulnerable, introspective lyrics and anthemic chorus, listening is a truly cathartic experience. Like so many of the great rock songs, PENI channelled her own personal pain into this one.
“2022 was objectively a terrible year for me,” she admitted. “It was just waves of heartbreak; just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, 2022 stabbed me in the back a few times for good measure while I was down. It really had me doubting myself. I couldn’t intellectualise it all, so I used the EP to channel some of that hurt, playing a lot off those broken-down anti-hero themes to go with my comic.
“’Disrupt’ particularly was a sore spot. I teared up writing it. Hearing the first mix and performing it hits just as hard. I was in such a dark space that I just used the bridge as a cathartic release and to remind myself of my worth. Unlike a physical wound, there’s no straightforward ‘broken to fixed’ route with mental health. It’s a spectrum from being anxious and wholly overwhelmed to just coping and absolutely thriving. We all have a whole lot of in-between moments and direction changes along the way. ‘Disrupt’ runs back & forth through these moments, just like when you catch yourself overthinking.”
PENI Parker won the 2022 Greater Good initiative, which lets exceptional emerging artists use Good Intent’s Artist Services pro-bono and provides a $4,000 cash grant and goodies from partners including Studios 301, Make Merchandise, and Billy Zammit. With this initiative’s support, we can expect to hear a lot more from PENI PARKER.
Image used with permission from Good Intent