Thea FitzGerald is a Naarm/Melbourne singer, songwriter, and budding producer obsessed with harmony, Soul, RnB, and anything that makes you move! A mix of soul, R&B, pop with a voice full of emotion and umph, Thea has just released her new single ‘Good Like That’ ahead of the release of her second EP.
‘Good Like That’ is here to get you ready for a sassy, liberated summer. It’s the perfect soundtrack for saying goodbye to the challenges of the last 18 months and sashaying, swaggering, or strutting into a new chapter.
The lyrics evoke a sense of freedom one finds when growing out of a relationship that doesn’t serve them well and creating distance without disdain –an emotional coming of age.
Created in collaboration with Melbourne producers SB90 and Michael Cooper (Mikki from Preston), and augmented by the silky trumpets of Woody Sampson (House of Wood), this body of work has been a labour of love throughout the difficulties of living in a world of COVID.
To celebrate the release of ‘Good Like That’, we asked Thea to share her top 5 albums with Forever West Zine.
1. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
To be honest, I kind of wish I could group all of Frank’s music into one album and include everything he’s ever done, BUT, to stay on task I’ll pull out this one.
I have always been a huge Frank fan, but listening to the Dissect podcast unpack his musical genius just blew my mind.
Not only is everything so sonically and lyrically perfect, but there is so much intention and intricacy behind every word and sound and I can honestly never tire from listening to this body of work!
2. An Evening With Silk Sonic - Silk Sonic
VERY hot off the press, but all I can say is I think I’ve listened to this album 15 times through in since it came out less than two weeks ago!?
The whole way through you can just feel how much fun Bruno ad Anderson had together creating this masterpiece and it is so so refreshing to be reminded that that is really all that matters when creating art. Also, every song on the album is just so brilliant and lyrically genius and it goes without saying that their talent is outstanding.
3. Pretenders - Greatest Hits
This album holds such a special place in heart as it was one that Dad used to blast frequently when I was a kid, and one of those albums you could always trust the whole family would love. The rhythm section of the Pretenders is just out of this world and the delivery Chrissy gives to her performance has stuck with me as an influence in my own music. Don’t Get Me Wrong is one of those songs that I can’t listen to standing still.
4. Anti - Rihanna
I remember this album coming out and listening from start to finish pretty much whenever I drove anywhere. The vocal delivery throughout is so powerful and genuine.
I love that Rihanna really turned the pop tables on their head in terms of very clearly focussing on emoting rather than getting the ‘perfect’ pop vocal - they are so raw and powerful.
I also love the variation across the album with the complete contrast between songs like synth and 808 heavy “Needed Me” and almost acoustic “Never Ending”. I love that it appears Rihanna just did what she wanted without creative boundaries.
5. Only By The Night - Kings Of Leon
Aside from being musically brilliant and an album I could listen to anywhere at anytime, this album encapsulates all the summer road-trips we used to do as a family. My two sisters and I would play and repeat this from Melbourne to Noosa (it was one of the very few albums we could all agree on!).
