Local songsmith, Baeden Faint, shines a light on mental health with his recently released single, ‘A Whole Lot More’.
Nicknamed the “Black Dog Song” by his friends and family, Baeden’s latest track is a hopeful monologue on men’s mental health in rural Australia.
With its timely arrival ahead of R U OK? Day, the song’s provocative themes hit close to home for the singer-songwriter.
“I was struggling, feeling isolated from friends and family.
“I tracked back home for a bit of a birthday bash to get my head straight and to see my friends, but sadly woke up the night after to find out that one of my mates had lost the battle himself,” Baeden said.
Wrapped in a catchy, up-tempo façade, Baeden’s words focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Hold your head up high, keep your chin up boss, pick your knees up off the floor,” he sings in his grizzled voice in the song’s chorus.
With his lyrics, the singer-songwriter hopes to normalise conversation around depression.
“Growing up in a country town it was almost the norm to see the struggling young men lose the battle against the ‘black dog’,” he said.
Originally penned with a melancholy tone in mind, the song began to shift under the guidance of producer, Garth Porter (Tom Curtain, Lee Kernaghan).
“Garth saw it as a more hopeful and uplifting song, and so the music steered in that direction.”
‘Give it some time and I promise you, you’ll like it a whole lot more.’
