Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

So, this weekend the Sasquatch Festival is happening in George, Washington at the Gorge. Unfortunately, the powers that be decided that I shouldn’t go, but I should go to the Pemberton Festival in Pemberton, BC. Both have killer lineups, with one exception. Thao with the Get down Stay Down.

I grabbed a copy of this at work the other day and I listened to it for about two weeks straight. I listened to it with the kind of obsession reserved for only select bands. I listened to it in my car, while eating dinner, at work, on the iPod on the bus. It’s a simple piece of work, when it comes down to it. Female songwriter with a killer band playing interesting instruments, interesting progressions with great musicianship; you’ve heard that before, right? Not this band, you haven’t heard a band that sounds like this before, I guarantee. Thao Nguyen has the kind of voice that you remember. It’s not pitch perfect, nor is it sweet like so many singers on the radio. But it’s totally 100% honest. The lyrics are funny without being cheesy. I adore her voice.

“I am all in a ball,
In your front yard,
I have this bag of hammers,
and I won’t ask you to come in,
cause I have sold everything”

The band … gawd damn, these guys are good. There are some heavy hitters on the album, that’s for sure. Seattle organist Wayne Horvitz, indie rock queen Laura Veirs, Tucker Martine. The grooves are in the pocket, but not stiff. The band plays with confidence and intensity. There are great little guitar lines in the background that pop and fizzle, occasionally meeting up with the piano/organ. Cool horn lines come in to cover the chorus. Plus, the band knows when to say when and sometimes provides a little silence in the breaks. Clapping, snapping, tongue in cheek noises (literally, not figuratively), all give the album the sprinkles on the sundae.

“I will keep my station wagon stationary,
and I will learn to juggle all the things we carry,
Must be hard on your bodyguards,
when you charge at icicles”

As an avid reader of Tape-Op magazine, I was glad to see that they recorded a portion of the album at Jackpot! studios in Portland with Larry Crane. Portland is a lucky town.

“Let’s go home and eat sweet things,
throw our arms across our eyes
they are angry like motorcycles,
tuck your chin and ride”

Oh ya, the beginning of the song Geography reminds me of Norah Jones. Then Thao’s voice comes in and I breathe a sigh of relief. Thao’s an IPA (hoppy and interesting), while Norah is more of a Lager (simpler and domestic).

Don’t steal this record, buy it.

p.s. Please come back to Seattle soon.