Music

Album review - Thao & the Get Down Stay Down

thao
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down
We the Common
Ribbon Music


There's nothing "common" about Thao Nguyen's talent and vibe. A delicious unease grasps these 12 tracks, a sort of folksy Williamsburg (Kentucky AND Brooklyn) feeling. Her voice, gritty as a washboard and sincere as a dove, slices through young-adult monotony.


"We don't call, we don't write. We love some strangers every night-- oh, no," she laments in the brassy "We Don't Call." In battling with a dooting sax that acts as her foil, she musically walks the tightrope of coolness and frailty. It's a song that's all at once a throwback to Edie Brickell and a rocket blasting off into the future NYC sound.


In further looking back to look forward, Nguyen teams with Appalacian-granny-sounding Joanna Newsom on "Kindness Be Conceived," a Carter Family-like boot-stomper. It's a fun little think-piece on "why we breathe and why we die." Agnosticism never sounded so pretty.


T&TGDSD take other cues from nascent acoustic R&B (Dirty Projectors influence rings clear and true on the spidery "Every Body)" and other ferocious fillies ("Move" would make Karen O and Alison Mosshart proud). Nguyen is an artist that sings as gayly of life's tribulations as she does of its triumphs. And that is worth celebrating.

- Melissa Bobbitt

More from Melissa Bobbitt (See All)
Permalink to
Music
Roundup: The Name Game
  Melissa Bobbitt      0

It's summer, so inevitably, folk-tokers Dave Matthews Band are hitting the road. DMB is one of the most prolific and popular groups named for its leader, but what about outfits named after real folks who...

Jun 25, 2012

Permalink to
Music
Thankful for Music
  Melissa Bobbitt      0

Photo courtesy Elena Roussakis/Creative Commons Happy Thanksgiving and Chanukah to those who celebrate! This time of year, as we're conjuring up our best-of lists, we remember how much we music fans have to be thankful for....

Nov 24, 2013