Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive (2016)

Thao Nguyen rarely meets an idea she doesn’t like. Over the past decade the San Francisco-based musician has dabbled in folk, bedroom beats and chamber pop, and collaborated with everyone from the Portland Cello Project to Merrill Garbus, AKA gonzo multi-instrumentalist Tune-Yards. Garbus is handed production duties on A Man Alive, Nguyen and her band the Get Down Stay Down’s sixth album, which might be her most idea-stuffed yet: surf rock riffs, tin-can percussion, hip-hop loops and violent stabs of industrial noise are some of the many sounds jostling for supremacy within its 12 tracks. Yet while A Man Alive often feels busy, it’s rarely overbearingly so, due to Nguyen’s ear for an off-kilter pop melody. Opener Astonished Man’s hip-shaking guitar line wouldn’t feel out of place on a St Vincent album, while Nobody Dies pairs a skewed glam stomp with a giddy bubblegum chorus. Best of all is Meticulous Bird, a wild, bass-driven piece of post-punk that resembles Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda being covered by Les Savy Fav, and is exactly as fun as it sounds.

Tracklist:
01. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Astonished Man (3:30)
02. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Slash/Burn (3:11)
03. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - The Evening (3:25)
04. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Departure (3:26)
05. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Nobody Dies (3:48)
06. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Guts (4:05)
07. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Fool Forever (3:08)
08. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Millionaire (3:06)
09. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Meticulous Bird (3:22)
10. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Give Me Peace (2:59)
11. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Hand to God (3:52)
12. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Endless Love (3:48)