SPIN Premieres THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN'S Single 'We The Common'

Related: THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN'S

SPIN is premiering the track "We The Common (For Valerie Bolden)" from Thao & the Get Down Stay Down's forthcoming record We The Common, out February 5 in the U.S. (February 4 throughout the rest of the world) on Ribbon Music. The song, inspired by frontwoman Thao Nguyen's volunteer work with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and hailed as "singularly anthemic" by SPIN, can be streamed/shared at http://bit.ly/TKZDHo.

The band will embark on a series of west coast in-store performances the week of release in support of the album before heading out this spring for a North American club tour. See below for a list of dates.

Thao also stars in a short almost-biopic about the creation of We The Common titled Behind The Making Of The Making Of How It Was Made. The first episode of Behind The Making, titled "The Hand of God" and directed by Lauren Tabak, is premiering now atwww.thaoandthegetdownstaydown.com. Thao notes that she "wanted to offer a behind the scenes look at the making and release of this record, but I wanted it to be entertaining. The best way to do that was to make merciless fun of myself. This series also marks my return to acting, which I left in high school after I had that one line in that play."

We The Common, hailed by Under the Radar for its "personal lyrics, swinging rhythms, easy and eminently catchy melodies, modest but textured arrangements, and an all-around good-times, life's-all-right vibe," is available now for pre-order, as is the deluxe vinyl version of the record, which includes a limited edition 7" with covers of Melanie's "Brand New Key" and The Troggs' "With A Girl Like You" (the 7" is also available as a download with pre-orders of the CD). Pre-order athttp://ribbonus.dominorecordco.com/ribbonus/albums/02-11-12/we-the-common/.

With NPR's "All Songs Considered" raving that Thao & the Get Down Stay Down is "insanely infectious [and] utterly charming," the band recently premiered the album cut "Holy Roller," which is streaming now at www.thaoandthegetdownstaydown.com. KCRW hails the track as a "finely-crafted, delicate pop song" while SPIN calls it "a lusty yet flighty song...[an] intricate, enigmatically charming creation." Nguyen notes that the song "was the first song I wrote for this new record...it marked a shift in how I operate. I was steadily, in an overdue way, becoming grateful for everything and everyone I had. I tried to capture a sense of revival and a determination to be better."

Recorded at San Francisco's Tiny Telephone Studios and Dallas' Elmwood Studio, We The Common was produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, the Walkmen, Explosions in the Sky) and features a duet with Joanna Newsom on the track "Kindness Be Conceived." Thao observes, "We The Common is an album about wanting to be a human who tries and is grateful for the opportunity. It is about wanting to be better and closer to people. I have had over a year respite from touring and recording-in this year I started really trying to be a part of the community I live in and the family I was born into." The album is the follow-up to Thao's 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster, which Pitchfork praised for its "warm exuberance that keeps the music spry."

Based in San Francisco after growing up in Falls Church, VA, Thao Nguyen first picked up a guitar at age 12. She has worked with a long list of acclaimed artists including Andrew Bird, Mirah, Laura Veirs and producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens) and has recorded a pair of critically acclaimed records for Kill Rock Stars, 2008's We Brave Bee Stings and All and the aforementioned 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster with her backing band the Get Down Stay Down. Since her last album Thao has worked with the artist advocacy non-profit Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) and has volunteered extensively with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. This year, in addition to recording her forthcoming album, Thao has toured the U.S. with the nationally syndicated NPR program "Radiolab." Please see below for track list.

THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN, WE The Common

1. We The Common (for Valerie Bolden)

2. City

3. We Don't Call

4. The Feeling Kind

5. Holy Roller

6. Kindness Be Conceived

7. The Day Long

8. Every Body

9. Move

10. Clouds For Brains

11. Human Heart