The Wake

Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down
We Brave Bee Stings and All

While separation of vocalist and band usually indicates a level of pomposity, Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down is one of the few legitimate exceptions. Thao’s name is detached from the slick and surgical backing band Get Down, Stay Down because she is the commanding sound of the group. Her voice and guitar define the bouncing indie-pop elements of this Virginia-based group, melodies that shine on We Brave Bee Stings and All, their first release with Kill Rock Stars.

Immediately, in the first track “Beat (Health, Life and Fire),” Thao’s band sounds a lot like Tapes n’ Tapes. With a frenetic acoustic guitar rhythm, marching snare, and the lead singer’s playful half speed intonation, it manages to be quick, catchy and charming.

23-year-old Thao Nguyen sounds at once older and younger than she is. Her lyrics call upon youthful imagery like ice cream and bee stings to draw out pieces of lightly jaded wisdom - the kind of wisdom realized after some growing up.

We Brave Bee Stings and All could certainly be considered a “coming of age” album, but it always comes back to her voice and style. It is at once powerful and soft, lazily moving from verse to verse. In a way, any track from the album could easily fit into an iPod or AirMac advertisement, not because it consists solely of potent pop hooks, though there are many, but because Apple seems to obsess on garnishing their gear with tunes from extremely talented female-led indie acts – re: Feist, CSS.

To experience the personality of Thao, visit her MySpace page and check out a few of her videos. Consisting of her playing solo with an acoustic guitar, she plays a few of her songs from the album and one badass Aretha Franklin cover. Here you can see how natural and physical her confidence as a musician is. Check it out.

Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down comes to the Triple Rock on March 14th.
http://www.myspace.com/thaomusic