Single Review: My Dog

Gareth Thomas has always had a knack with words and a persuasive way of weaving them into appealingly off-kilter pop songs. Think back to the days of Goodshirt and the delicately spun and woozy Sophie, and Fazerdaze’s churning guitar epic Misread or the gentle rush of The Google Song from his 2010 debut solo album Lady Alien.

His new single My Dog could almost be a parable for our times, with a narrative that’s recalls the time he scoured the streets of New Plymouth for two days after the family dog had gone missing. The feelings of anxiety that ensued are nicely paralleled thematically with the struggle that those with mental health challenges have facing the “black dog”.

In the press release that accompanies the release, Thomas says: “Our dog didn’t come home for two days. Late at night I found the panicked little guy halfway across New Plymouth. He was running up Tukapa Street frantically looking left to right to left to right. Too many corners to choose from. Panting furiously, his heart beating in a flutter and his eyes were glazed over. That was exactly how I felt. Too many turns to choose from, too many decisions and too many expectations.”

The song itself slithers along on a steady beat and a pulsing Moog synthesiser, which then bristles into an off-kilter, chorus of sorts that never quite knows what direction it wants to go in. Thomas’ vocal is almost reflectively disoriented, with some delightful over-lays from Simon Gooding, and a shift to a higher pitch when the chorus, as such, unfolds.

My Dog isn’t as baited as obviously as some of Thomas’ aforementioned songs but it still hooks you in with its fuzzy logic, a simple but effective video, and an endearing story that has a deeper message to it.