THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN – KNOW BETTER LEARN FASTER

You may have heard this trio from California doing the theme song for Channel Ten’s drama Offspring. The track, And then we Swam features the lyrics, “oh bring your hips to me” which this reviewer always thought was “open your hips…” Which could work too. Thao Nguyen is a quirky songstress, a little Bjork-ish, but with her head screwed on. This album is fun and it gains momentum with every track blasting an overwhelming sense of joy with sugar-high instrumentals. Their tambourine taps and sax highs add a divine happiness like a Hare Krishna parade.  But listen closer to the lyrics and you’ll find a bittersweet message resonating, one of loss. “This is what strangers do / I want no part / I kiss your ears with the truth / How could it hurt so hard” I feel that this album is about the hindsight you feel after a messy break up: it was high-notes at the time but now it’s bass. It finishes up with the poignant spoken-word message in Easy: “sad people dance too.” Which is what this album is saying: no matter how down you are, pick yourself up and dance, OK?

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