Back in June we introduced Dirt, the forthcoming album from US-born, Sydney-based songwriter Ainsley Farrell, with lead single ‘The Way Back’. “With its careful yet constant rhythm, the song faces up to suffering with a steely determination,” we wrote, “urging anyone struggling to hold on a little longer until the clouds begin to break.” A track written from the frustration of distance, where Farrell found herself unable to help someone who was suffering, which instead tried to share some of the burden until a time when the pain eased.
Feelings of powerlessness again feature on latest single ‘Buffet’, albeit within an entirely different context. “This song came from a place of feeling angry, powerless and minimized after a few different experiences where men thought they could violate my space and then just go about their day,” Farrell explains. With the central image that of a older man who decided it appropriate to come onto her at a buffet by comparing her to the food. That strange and deflating mismatch of power, where something so throwaway to one person can leave such a bruise.
The resulting track simmers with competing energies. The writhing discomfort of the experience matched only by an ever-present anger now brought to the boil. “Told you that I’m not part of the buffet,” Farrell sings, “push me round your plate / Go about your day.” It’s delivered with latent strength, taut guitar and pounding percussion eventually breaking into a squally release. An attempt to reverse the situation, draw power from the music and regain the agency which is chipped away day by day.
