Thao Nguyen! Very very interesting sounding lady. Her voice caught my ear to the extent that I went and listened to the whole album. A little bit of a let down, but shows lots of potential. With a little more variation in her vocal range and expression, her music could be improved drastically. Great uplifting style though. I'm pretty sure she hasn't made it anywhere near big yet...so when she does, the money and time spent for vocal training will definitely help her out. Why I'm pretty confident that she could become popular: who doesn't like a memorable voice?
The Get Down Stay Down (the band on this album) seems to be pretty rad as well. Not at all surprised that there's talent here. I probably could've told you that before taking a listen...as soon as I read that We Brave Bee Stings and All was released on the Kill Rock Stars label. Heard of Elliott Smith, or the Decemberists (if you haven't, please pretend you have, for my sake)? Same label.
Last words: it's a decent and fun-sounding album, if you don't mind chicks singing.
My vote: 3 stars
My favorite tracks: "Swimming Pools" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=966nqAtqWzE & "We Go" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQSiwrUdUU & "Bag of Hammers" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQSiwrUdUU
