I’ve spent the entire week listening to the latest edition to my vinyl collection, Know Better Learn Faster, by Thao with the Get Down Stay Down.  Because I’ve been listening to this record nonstop I figured that I might as well select from it for our song of the week: Body.

Thao has appeared on the website before, in connection to her side project with Thao & Mirah.  This time I focus on her regular band the Get Down Stay Down.  Operating out of San Francisco, to date all their albums have been released on Kill Rock Stars label of Olympia Washington.  It’s that split of environments with just enough quirk to satisfy f the PNW and pop to soothe the Northern Cal hipster that helps give them their unique flavor.

Some have compared Thao to that of Cat Power, which isn’t exactly untrue I just wouldn’t have drawn that conclusion on my own.  They’re voices have that uniquely somber and sensual tone to them, where Thao differs from Power, is in her noticeably upbeat pop licks.  Know Better Learn Faster is the perfect house party LP for dancing of all kinds.  

This is the sexiest album I’ve listened to in a long time, perhaps it’s Thao’s sensual voice or her fleshy lyrics.  The irony being that the album is like a mantra for a lovers lessons learned.  Like finding a diary of bad breakup’s and instead of crafting an album of lonely acoustic melodies, you throw in tradition pop/rock beats complete with a claps and dance your sorrows away.

Choosing one song off the album to feature was a difficult task, in the past I’ve gone with the song that most stuck in my head.  In this case every song has spent significant time haunting my brain and lips.  Body is one of the most personal songs and at the same time one of the most catchy.  In the end I chose it because the video was directed by Thao’s good friend Dianna Agron of Glee.  I’m not sure if that was really a great reason to select the song, it just seemed like a fun connection to one of the biggest show’s on TV.  There’s also another delightful video of Dianna and Thao performing together for 826LA with a throng of children armed with maracas.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, seem to be hovering right on the edge of complete explosion.  I will be surprised if her next album doesn’t reach an ever wider audience.  In the meantime she’s been touring with Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein on the Portlandia Tour.  As well as performing the live score of the current Radiolab tour.

You can download the song for free here.