While cooking a fabulous tortilla soup last night, I let my iTunes shuffle, and this is what occurred. As soon as Thao Nguyen’s “Bag of Hammers” started, my body automatically did this swinging side to side thing, and before I knew it, I was dancing with a can of tomatoes.  Needless to say, I was quite taken by Thao Nguyen and her ironic happy song style.  Her vocals ever so slightly remind me of uniqueness of Regina Spektor’s, and when the horns come in on “Feet Asleep” I immediately hear The Format, but under it all she is a singer-songwriter with a guitar.  The songs of We Brave Bee Stings and All have an upbeat happy feel, but underlying many are melancholy lyrics sugarcoating reality.  I feel this is one of those times where listening to one song reveals more than any simple review could, so find yourself a can of tomatoes or whatever other inanimate object is around and enjoy!

Thao Nguyen – Bag of Hammers