WE THE COMMON OUT NOW ON RIBBON MUSIC, RECEIVES CRITICAL PRAISE
“Ms. Nguyen’s voice, wobbly and rich, is engaging, and her gently confessional lyrics… are equally beguiling.”—The New York Times
The video for Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s “Holy Roller,” directed by Mimi Cave, is premiering at VEVO in celebration of the group’s critically acclaimed new album We The Common (out now on Ribbon Music). The video can be viewed/shared at http://vevo.ly/10eWSlc. “‘Holy Roller’ was the first song written for We The Common,” notes frontwoman Thao Nguyen. She goes on, “It set the tone of revival, gratitude and humanity for the entire record. Making the video with the fantastic Mimi Cave and the incredible cast and crew was a highlight and we had just as much or more fun than it looks. Note: That is me doing the running man. No stunt dancers were employed.”
On the heels of a successful North American spring tour that included sold-out stops in New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Los Angeles, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down will hit the road this summer for additional performances including stops at the Austin City Limits Festival, Bumbershoot, Outside Lands and a free show at NYC’s Pier 84 with Foxygen. Please see below for a list of dates; additional dates to be announced shortly. SF Weekly praises Thao’s live show, noting that “Nguyen exploded with energy,” while Guitar World calls the group’s show “electrifying.”
“We The Common is music that makes you move from your bones out… it’s]keenly intelligent and original.”
“Quirky but cutting, playful but forceful, controlled but ragged, Thao Nguyen is one of the most commanding and distinctive young singers around. She infuses everything around her with electricity and mischievous boldness.”
“Thao’s most sharply written record to date…its 12 songs are smart, sometimes piercingly self- aware meditations on the creative life, teasing out the tension between life and art, the individual and the community—and perhaps most of all—security and restlessness.”
“Delightful”
“Nguyen is one of the most innovative guitarists around.”
“Singularly anthemic”
Recorded at San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone Studios and Dallas’ Elmwood Studio, We The Common was produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, the Walkmen, Explosions in the Sky). Thao observes, “We The Common is an album about wanting to be a human who tries and is grateful for the opportunity. It is about wanting to be better and closer to people. I have had over a year respite from touring and recording—in this year I started really trying to be a part of the community I live in and the family I was born into.” The album is the follow-up to Thao’s 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster, which Pitchfork praised for its “warm exuberance that keeps the music spry.”
Based in San Francisco after growing up in Falls Church, VA, Thao Nguyen first picked up a guitar at age 12. She has worked with a long list of acclaimed artists including Andrew Bird, Mirah, Laura Veirs and producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens) and has recorded a pair of critically acclaimed records for Kill Rock Stars, 2008’s We Brave Bee Stings and All and the aforementioned 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster with her backing band the Get Down Stay Down. Since her last album Thao has worked with the artist advocacy non profit Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) and has volunteered extensively with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. This year, in addition to recording her forthcoming album, Thao has toured the U.S. with the nationally syndicated NPR program “Radiolab.”
