Thao Nguyen had shed her band name for 20 years, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. Her marriage came to an end. And, after a six year wait, a new album has emerged.
Now performing under the mononym Thao, the artist has released “Show Me,” an album she calls “a real-time record-keeping of my life evolving into a different relationship with love and desire over the last few years.”
The album, out today, is her first since 2020’s “Temple,” the final stanza of the Get Down Stay Down era. For “Show Me,” Thao rejoined the Kill Rock Stars label and invited Tune-Yards, The Linda Lindas, Neko Case and Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas to contribute.
The lack of output since “Temple” should not be taken as a hiatus. In the gap before today’s release, she guest hosted the “Song Exploder” podcast and PBS’s “Southern Storytellers” and developed a musical.
On the occasion of “Show Me’s” debut and a short run of dates, including Unicorn Bar in Kingston on Nov. 11 and Mercury Lounge on Nov. 12, Nguyen answered a few of our questions via email. She’ll mount a full tour early next year, including a stop at the Bowery Ballroom on Feb. 27.
Did retiring the Get Down Stay Down name have an impact on how you approached making this album?
Not consciously, but I do think this new album is the mark of a new era for my life personally and professionally, and retiring that name was marking the natural end of some things, both personally and professionally.
What did you learn about yourself as you made the album?
I learned that I am after a different kind of honesty and vulnerability, and that I’m a lot less guarded than I used to be. And also I tapped into patience and self-belief reserves I didn’t realize had been building over these last few years.
Are there specific emotional challenges, such as having to let your defenses down, that come with working with collaborators on such personal material?
Yes, there are potential challenges and I use them to help me determine who to work with and when to work alone. If I’m comfortable enough going where I need to go with these songs and this material with someone in the room, then it works. If not, I’ll do the work on my own and invite them back in for other parts of the process. Some people like my friend/fam Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards can always be in the room whenever she wants.
Heading into the midterms, how politically active do you plan to be? What are the most important issues to you right now?
I plan to be as active as is sustainable, with the knowledge that midterms are huge yes but staying engaged and active beyond what might and might not happen is just as vital.
Re: issues- just to name a few: the fragility of and the protection of our democratic process, immigrant/ refugee rights in our country, and climate catastrophe.
What will the fall shows be like? Solo, full band, guests, etc?
Full band, full joy, and some guests in select cities and hopefully hopefully the whole crowd letting loose with us.
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