Music Industry News

Led by the playful new single ‘Therapy Cat’, Bits is the new album from Gareth Thomas, founding member of Goodshirt and Fazerdaze. It’s an eclectic record about heartbreak, grief and getting older, written with humour, tenderness and a rediscovered creative spark.

A breakup, a lockdown, a cat, and a challenge from Voom‘s Buzz Moller turned into one of the most intriguing songs on Gareth Thomas’ new Bits album.

Gareth wrote ‘Therapy Cat’ during COVID lockdown, living alone through a difficult breakup. His sister had dropped off a grey cat named Freyja to keep him company. On a hard day, Gareth was on the phone with his friend Buzz Moller, the frontman of Voom.

“Now is absolutely the best time to write songs,” Buzz told him. “Write me a song called Therapy Cat and send it to me tomorrow.”

So Gareth did. The song began at his piano, singing to Freyja as she responded to his upper register “here kitty” voice. He and Buzz traded the song back and forth, with Buzz helping shape the structure and adding a “nice rickety old piano” outro.

For the final recording, Gareth brought in the friends who’d supported him through that period — Buzz Moller, Jonathan Burgess, Joe McElhinney and Thomas Erasmus — forming what he calls a “man choir” on the choruses:

“I want you all to sound like a rugby team singing about my cat.”

The result is warm, slightly ridiculous, and genuinely affectionate. Freyja still approves – Gareth says she comes running for headbutt cat-kisses whenever he plays it on piano.

The lyric video is just as candid and personal: Gareth’s iPhone had been stuck in Live Photo mode during that period, accidentally capturing moving clips of him and Freyja together. He stitched these into a home-made video of their lockdown life.

As we grow older, the wonders of youthful enthusiasm can easily evaporate, as curiosity is replaced with sensibility. Bits gathers Gareth’s responses to these emotional tectonic shifts — how he navigated a challenging period of grief, heartbreak and huge life changes.

Surprisingly, the result is a colourful, eclectic collection of tracks. There are many shades to this album: sometimes melancholic, but always uplifting.

‘Cyber Star’ pokes fun at selfie culture, ‘Love Resume’ compares dating to a job application, and ‘My Dog’ uses the family pet to explore anxiety. The album also features Gareth’s interpretation of the poem ‘Wavesong’ by New Zealand’s Sam Hunt.

“Nick Cave eloquently said, ‘Grief is love with nowhere to go,’” Gareth says. “Essentially, you need a place to put those big emotions – and you need to cherish it.”

Gareth created the album’s 8-bit-inspired rainbow artwork himself, drawing on his love of vintage electronica and the colourful DIY creativity of his early days with Goodshirt.

“Writing, producing and performing this album has been cathartic,” he says, “and a way to keep my inner child alive.”

Gareth will celebrate the release of Bits with a run of live shows across Aotearoa, including an Auckland album release show at BIG FAN on Friday 20 November with Echomatica.

Explore Bits through Gareth Thomas’ limited-edition vinyl on Bandcamp and the full digital package on LUME, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and bonus unreleased videos.

The vinyl is also being distributed by Rhythmmethod.

GARETH THOMAS – LIVE
Thursday 22 October – Oamaru, Waitaki Winegrowers
Friday 23 October – Oamaru Arts Festival
Saturday 24 October – Dunedin, Relics Music & Hifi (2pm)
Sunday 8 November – Christchurch, Space Academy
Friday 20 November – Auckland, BIG FAN (Album Release Show with Echomatica)
Saturday 28 November – Nelson, Shed Twenty5
Sunday 29 November – Golden Bay, Mussel Inn

Check out all things Gareth Thomas below:
Spotify
Instagram
Facebook