IT has been a busy 12 months for Newcastle-based country artist Natalie Henry, who will this month release her new recording Apple and Pride.
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The 10-track album is a portrait of Henry's life which covers the terrain from her childhood up to the present date.
"The apple is my children, my three little girls," Henry said. "And pride is about my new partner, Emily."
Henry has been in a relationship with guitarist Emily Smith since 2017.
"The title is about filling your heart with things you love," she said.
Apple and Pride was financed through the crowdfunding portal Pozible.
"It was really tough," Henry said. "But Pozible was great and it really helped."
The recording was laid down in a couple of sessions, between 2018 and 2019, at Brisbane's Moko Productions, with Michael Muchow at the helm.
Henry said the sound of the recording was like "all my favourite '90s girl-bands rolled into one".
"It's like a Lucinda Williams album but more Australian," she said. "It's still very country, but has a bit more of a rock vibe."
Part of the rock vibe is delivered by electric guitar, which Henry's partner, Smith, plays in the band.
The title tack, Apple and Pride, dropped in September 2018.
"It was one of those songs I started writing, it just came out in a couple of minutes and it was just done straight away," Henry said.
"It sounds depressing, but it's almost a loving memory of all the things that didn't work in my previous relationship.
"It's almost a melancholy song, but in a happy way. You've moved on and made better things happen for yourself.
"The whole album is all about new love and moving on and I have been able to encapsulate a whole part of me in one album.
"There is a little bit about my dad and who I am today, and little bit about the kids, and things about mother-guilt."
Henry will perform the album at the launch with Smith on guitar, Bodhi Sauceman on drums, Michael Mochow on guitar and mandolin, and Ben Conicella on bass.
There will also be some Newcastle superstar guest appearances. Gleny Rae Virus is expected to join in for a song or two, along with Lyn Bowtell, and a 10 piece choir will perform with the band for the song Mona Lisa.
Henry will be supported by former Novocastrian Melody Muchow and Suz Dorahy, before hitting the road to tour the album until May.
The album will drop to digital platforms on March 23.