Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive
This may sound like a musical biography of the esteemed host of the CBC television program Man Alive, Roy Bonisteel, but it’s not. Although it may be just be as weird.
This is the fourth album for the band and the follow up to their critically admired 2013 release, We The Common. This new 12 song offering is a bit of a departure from the previous album.
We The Common was a protest album of sorts and brought to light the mistreatment of women prisoners in California. A Man Alive focuses on the more rhythmic, and cerebral funkiness song writing of the band’s leader, Thao Nguyen.
Nguyen has written some of the darkest, yet surprisingly uplifting music of her career. “Nobody Dies”, is an excellent example of this. The song is definitely the best in show and is a song everyone should hear this year. The musicianship of the band is second to none, and they blazingly blast out a strong drum beat and twangy guitar mixing in organic perfection with Ngyuen’s unique singing voice. The songs range from the dreamy to all out psychotic, come throw me into a rubber room, brilliance.
“Fool Forever” falls into the rubber room category. It’s a psychological musical beauty that will infect every crease in your brain. Lovely stuff.
If you are feeling adventurous, I can’t recommend any higher, that you check out Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s latest two albums, but you must, must, listen to them LOUD!
