Hilltop Hoods member Suffa, aka Matthew Lambert, has shared his experiences with mental health and depression. He also spoke about the personal stories behind two key tracks on the group’s new album, Fall from the Light.
In an interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Lambert discussed “This Year”, a candid song addressing his battle with depression, and “The Gift”, which features a verse written about his late father.
“Like a lot of people during the pandemic, anything that you’d had in the background sort of came to the front, and I felt it in myself,” he says. “I made the decision to go and talk to someone about [depression] and to actively take it on, because I’d never discussed it. I realise now that I was embarrassed, and it wasn’t until I gave it a name and started talking to someone about it that I was able to deal with it and improve things.
He added, “I was only able to do that because of other people talking about it and not being ashamed or embarrassed about it, and I wanted to do something that I thought was the most honest and accurate description of dealing with depression that I could, in the hopes that other people could identify with that and go, ‘That’s what I’m dealing with and I wanna take it on as well.’ It can’t be overstated enough how helpful it is for people to talk about it, and how destructive it is to have this shame, because I’m not ashamed.
Reflecting on his family, Lambert said, “When I look back, I think my dad probably dealt with it, and when I look back at my grandpa, I think he was probably dealing with it, and I want to be on the front foot with it. I went through bouts of depression where it was pretty bad, but I feel like I’m coming out the other side of that, and part of that journey was writing [“This Year”]. It was so cathartic to write that and put it down like ‘this is what it is,’ and to understand it. It was a big deal for me. It’s really helped me and I’m hoping a lot of men, although it’s not restricted to men, can identify with that, and hopefully it helps out.”
Hilltop Hoods will hit the road in early 2026 to celebrate their ninth album Fall From the Light, out now via Island Records Australia/UMA.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
The ‘Never Coming Home’ tour will bring the trio’s high-energy live show to capital city arenas around the country, kicking off in Hobart on February 14th before heading to Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
