Thao Nguyen sings with the excitement of a small dog that has just pinned a much larger dog beneath it. She writes songs with a breezy swing that makes me think I should store her new record, We Brave Bee Stings and All, in a hammock. The whole listening experience of this collection of songs aligns perfectly with some of my favorite music listening activities: dancing in the kitchen while the butter burns, being outside with a Frisbee and a red plastic cup in hand, driving a bit too fast along deserted roads, and most of all, holding my dog’s front paws up and trying to get him to dance with me.

Thao Nguyen and The Get Down Stay Down are a San Fran via Virginia-based rock group released by Kill Rock Stars Records. Their latest release comes at a time when the weather is warming and the socks are thinning across America. They help aid in the common sentiment that not only should people smile more, but they should do so draped in sunlight and, in some cases, wearing little more than a swimsuit.

On We Brave Bee Stings and All, Nguyen speaks in all sorts of silly metaphors, but more importantly, she does so in a voice that is both uplifting and laidback enough that you might think she taught music to eighth graders at a small public school. I imagine she would teach music using phrases like, “You need to feel it first,” and “Feel free to dance!” and, “This is the sort of stuff that makes the world go round…” I also imagine her students would grow up to become well-rounded adults.

The music on the album brings out often-neglected instrumentation without feeling the least bit cluttered, but rather pleasantly simple. Mandolins, horns, banjos, and handclaps all accompany Nguyen’s voice and the Get Down Stay Down’s rhythms eloquently. The experience is not unlike eating a rather mundane looking muffin and then discovering that the muffin is filled with flavors from around the world. Cranberries, exotic sugars, lemon zest, and moist grains all swishing around in your belly trying desperately to avoid giving you a stomach ache as you dance around in the bakery parking lot listening to the folk or rock or pop sound provided by We Brave Bee Stings and All. It is pleasant enough that you want to eat more muffins and try more new things. Next time you are at a bakery, you decide to order a scone or a donut filled with some sort of jelly instead of your usual coffee-muffin-pomegranate drink combination. This is the beauty of the Get Down Stay Down. They offer a chance to inspire people to possibly try something that they wouldn’t have tried yesterday. Maybe not, maybe I am giving them more credit than they deserve, but maybe I will travel to the record store later and peruse a bit more of the folk-rock section, or sign on to the iTunes store and click the “similar artists” button that I think exists. All this in attempt to recreate the simple pleasures experienced while listening to We Brave Bee Stings and All.

Thao Nguyen’s Daytrotter Session from 2006
Thao Nguyen Official Site
Kill Rock Stars