For Thao Nguyen’s second LP, she enlisted backing band the Get Down Stay Down, and the 11 tunes here are as perky as they are melancholy. With a twang in her voice that’s bound to garner comparisons to Chan Marshall’s drawl, Virginia native Nguyen can make torture sound joyful. “Fear And Convenience” wraps Joanna Newsom-like playfulness, horns and handclaps around a disturbing lyric (“Did he hurt you in a new way?”). “Violet” goes one deeper, dealing with domestic violence without budging from the giddy musical backdrops the band provides. It’s the Get Down’s ability to take what might otherwise be clichéd chord patterns and make them breathe (with bits of tympani, dulcimer and trombone) that ultimately makes We Brave Bee Stings And All interesting, if not a bit fey. On the other hand, from the reggae-like riff of “Bag Of Hammers” to album closer “We Go” and its 50/50 mix of dirge and revelry, Nguyen has the smarts to sense her own catchiness, which fits her like a favorite party dress worn to a neighbor’s funeral. [www.killrockstars.com]
—Bruce Miller
