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We Brave Bee Stings And All

by Thao and the Get Down Stay Down

supported by
Jeremy / HI54LOFI
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Jeremy / HI54LOFI as is often the case with Thao albums… this one is a start to finish treat for the ears Favorite track: Geography.
Alexa Villaume
Alexa Villaume thumbnail
Alexa Villaume I saw Thao in concert a few years ago and was very impressed. I actually bought this album at that concert but it has been lost in the sands of time so I was pleased to see it on bandcamp. Favorite track: Beat (Health, Life And Fire).
Chris K
Chris K thumbnail
Chris K Great folksy tunes. Sounds like a mix of Vampire Weekend and Joanna Newsom. I've known some of these songs for a while but never put them together and I can't remember were I keep hearing them. Thao manages to sound new and familiar at the same time. That's a sign for an accomplished musician in my books and not to be mixed with someone that simply sounds familiar
jennifer elias
jennifer elias thumbnail
jennifer elias Thank you Andrew Jervis. Watch this video and be persuaded. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fO3dBzV0O8 Favorite track: Beat (Health, Life And Fire).
executivehoodie
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executivehoodie I've loved this album since the day it came out and still sounds fresh, lively and interesting all these years later. Thao is the best. Favorite track: Bag Of Hammers.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Thao With The Get Down Stay Down's "We Brave Bee Stings And All" vinyl record!

    Includes unlimited streaming of We Brave Bee Stings And All via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Includes unlimited streaming of We Brave Bee Stings And All via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of We Brave Bee Stings And All via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

1.
Beat my brow, beat my chest Beat the ones who love me the best Oh how could they be liars They insure me health, life and fire Oh no How can you stand it When I run, when I run like a bandit I wear him like a habit In the lining of my jacket And oh my Gunpowder In an emergency I must battle without her she is surely killing me So you’re never gonna leave And I’m never gonna leave But I’m proud to say I’ve got us beat I’m never gonna leave And you’re never gonna leave But you’re never gonna love me like I need
2.
I am all in a ball In your front yard I have this bag of hammers And I won’t ask to come in Cause I have sold everything Still I have got some manners And there’s a hole in your head Spilled your thoughts on the floor We wanted you bad You wanted it more The trick is You do not get on that interstate bus The catch is You stay and see what becomes of us Shake Shake Shake Shake the frame of this house Distress the wood make it shout Oh, Oh And as sharp as I sing As sharp as I sting It still soothes you doesn’t it Like a lick of ice cream
3.
You are strong, strong, strong Stronger than me With a heart much more, much more lovely And I reached high High as I was able Such a small kid At the big kid table And you followed me Into the forest Positioned and ready Ready for a kiss. But I never gave you nothing. Not even to hold. Or wear around your neck, or rest upon your collar bone But I’ve got reasons; I have been excused I want to reconvene; I want to tell the truth It is not as though I do not know it hurts me It’s just I drink only that which makes me thirsty We are after all Locomotives Cannot recall, reclaim, pretend we did not do it
4.
We are sore the length of our bodies We restore water we cry We are nothing if not your granddaughters We have been nothing but dignified We, we brave beestings and all And we don’t dive, we cannonball And we splash our eyes full of chemicals Just so there’s none left for the little girls Just so there’s none left for little girls Roll, roll, roll up your denim We’ve gotta pedal ten hours south They pour it down from their balconies You’ve gotta push all the doubt to the side of your mouth Cause we, we brave beestings and all And we don’t dive, we cannonball And we splash our eyes full of chemicals Just so there’s none left for the little girls Just so there’s none left for little girls
5.
Geography 03:14
Oh geography is gonna make a mess of me Oh geography is gonna make a mess of me My, my mouth a confessional cannon Run away from me with the most reckless of abandon Are you unhappy for me I am unhappy for you All I can think to do Get you, get you, get you good But I don’t know What I don’t know Fire compels, fire consumes You are a cheater you are fire proof Fire proof I am a smoky plume I am up a ladder to your bedroom But I don’t know What I don’t know My blood is thin with aspirin I throw you in, I throw you in
6.
Fast Asleep 03:40
Talk soft so you fall asleep Cooked you dinner but you would not eat Your sharp mouth forgets when You swore goddamn you wouldn’t do it again And I bend back With an eye full of mud And I take it on the chin And then I patch you up All these years my feet asleep Move them around that they might breathe Oh so little time I have gone old This shop, this shop And all it owns Come back to see me I know they have a rainy season Come back to see me I know they have a rainy season You, you are mine So I never would mind I work my arms so hard Just to give you an airplane ride
7.
Loved large enough To want to shrink Been dumb enough To start to think I might cut right back On the heart attacks And so on, so on, so on and on So on, so on, so on and on It was brave to play It was an honor to lose All the banners wave All the fans salute I am going away But not away from you I have found the difference between the two So on We want too much it’s a given In the bones of the matter we live in I want more than can be given At the heart of the matter we live in So on
8.
I have seen fear and convenience. I have never glimpsed romance. All my riches in the company van I drove much faster than they ran Did he hurt you In a new way All our senses dry as cotton Petrified hearts let ‘em go if you got ‘em And all I can give: hot water from my shower My legs on your bed so I do not think about her
9.
Violet 02:44
Oh no Violet don’t you go Violet, Violet, don’t you go I will keep my station wagon stationary And I will learn to juggle all the things we carry Must be hard on your bodyguards When you charge at icicles Eye-level to your heart And you sing Don’t they need any Won’t they leave any Won’t they They won’t I built a light tower for my town pillar Low flying aircraft are gonna kill her I laid these bricks You want stones You won’t be carried You must be thrown Oh no Violet
10.
Travel 01:47
Darlin did you hate The way I made you travel All pain and scrapes Scrapes and safety hazards We only only rolled so far And then I rolled you from my zooming car But I took A million looks How they ate me up Made me heavy and for what But you float, you float How could you know I never can tell I never can show
11.
We Go 02:34
Let’s go home and eat sweet things Throw our arms across our eyes They are angry like motorcycles Tuck your chin and ride We are not so bad We are not so We are not so bad When we go We have burned our tongues While we burned your ears You are patient ones We have worn you thin and clear We will go We will go
12.
13.

about

According to Thao Nguyen, she has two talents: her first is she has a knack for beat-boxing and humming at the same time and her second, and in her opinion finest, is that she had a capacity to watch so much TV as a kid, she’s convinced her personality is made up of several different sitcom characters. Of course Thao, the 23 year Virginia-bred songwriter, is forgetting her unique voice, natural sense for a good melody, and striking lyrics, skillful guitar plucking and her deadly dry sense of humor. Thao’s debut for Kill Rock Stars, showcases all these talents and more, proving she’s a star in the making.

With her perky strumming guitar, bluegrass tinged banjo, giddy sense of self and uninhibited vulnerability, Thao manages that rare combination of songs that sound happy but are, at times so sad. Whether using an acoustic guitar strummed with a toothbrush or a sharpie pen, or employing keyboards, horns and a full rhythm section with her band The Get Down Stay Down, her songs are always buoyant, littered with catchy riffs and lyrics gripped with intimate details juxtaposed with her cheeky humor. “My songs reflect my personality as far as shirking the seriousness of things” says Thao.

Thao first picked up a guitar aged 12 and began performing music in a pop country duo at high school. She began writing songs with a simple intention to accompany the television programs she loved. “I was really into Party Of Five. I remember Sarah McLachlan was playing in the background on one episode. From then on I kinda always wanted to be on the soundtrack!”.

In college, Thao recorded an EP and released a full length debut Like The Linen on a local Virginia label. After playing shows all over the US, she landed a spot on the Kill Rock Stars 2006 singer-songwriter compilation The Sound The Hare Heard. Soon after, she began recording in Seattle and Portland with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Mudhoney). Taking a break to tour with Laura Veirs, who also guests on the song ‘Geography’ she spent most of 2007 recording the 11 diverse tracks that constitute We Brave Bee Stings And All, a subtly powerful album concerned with admissions of guilt, life revelations, failed domesticity and suburban ennui.

Thao’s songs cover a variety of musical styles as well as personal and social topics. From the musical versatility of her first single ‘Bag Of Hammers’, an emotional plea to the left and leaving backed by an upbeat melody, joyful horns and intricate guitar work, to the lyrically dark and cynical ‘Beat (Health, Life and Fire)’ and the socio-political slant on modern feminism on ‘Swimming Pools’.

Thao’s sly and mischievous sense of humor is all over this record, lightening the gravity of her words in the tradition of the very best songwriters, raising the mundane and ordinary to the extraordinary. Her music comes to life during her live performances, where Thao’s clever, self-depricating and charming personality shines, surpassed only by her guitar picking skills.

The Get Down Stay Down are: Adam ‘The O.K. Bird’ Thompson (Bass) and Willis Thompson (Drums)

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released January 29, 2008

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Thao and the Get Down Stay Down Falls Church, Virginia

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