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iTunes Review

San Francisco’s Thao Nguyen is one of those singers who can get two or three syllables from words like “have,” without sounding like a Nashville wannabe or a kid with hiccups. As on last year’s We Brave Bee Stings And All , her style is spirited and robust, and even the gentler, breezy tracks, like “The Give” and “Oh No,” are hardier than most. Songs ache with longing, love and lust, and when she sings, “bring your hips to me,” “I think I could burn you up,” or “I disarm you in the morning,” her straightforwardness is downright sexy. Thao and her two bandmates (on bass and drums) adorn the intimate moments with shy strings, pedal steel guitar and spare arrangements, while her more exuberant expressions swing and cha-cha with guitars, keyboards, horns and hand percussion. (“I don’t get to leave, ‘cause you left first,” she trills on “Easy,” while layers of chirping vocals and a bouncing rhythm section skip along.) The whole set is superb. Thao’s recording with the Portland Cello Project (The Portland Cello Project: The Thao and Justin Power Sessions) is well worth seeking out as well.