Thao with The Get Down Stay Down
January 10, 2008
Get psyched for Thao Nguyen’s new album, We Brave Bee Stings And All, out on January 29, on Kill Rock Stars. She’s the best thing to come out of northern Virginia since (coincidentally) Pho 75 and the Newseum. Nguyen’s infectious smile-inspiring country-folk tunes at times sound a bit like Chan Marshall covering Modest Mouse (see “Bag of Hammers“). It’s a craft apparently honed in her mother’s laundromat, and now spread coast to coast thanks to KRS in the Pacific Northwest.
It could be the surface perky quirkiness. It could be the remorseful undertones. It might just be the banjo. Who knows or cares? Thao Nguyen and The Get Down Stay Down are the first great release of 08. Check out the video of her performing “Geography,” recently posted on Pitchfork (here), and fall in love. NB: The album will be released on the same day as Vampire Weekend, so save your pennies kids.
Listen: “Feet Asleep” from The Sound the Hare Heard, Kill Rock Stars Compilation. “Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)” and “Swimming Pools” from We Brave Bee Stings And All.
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