So far we’ve featured an exclusive article on the band and taken a look at their favorite songs of the moment … but what about their fellow BAMM.tv artists? We cracked open the vaults and allowed the Foxes to have a good old rummage through. They picked out the moments that inspired them the most. Want to take a look at them? Sure you do.

Waters – Mickey Mantle

Ferocious Few – Midnight Ghost

Geographer - Paris

Hot Tub – 1 2 3 Go

Kelly McFarling – The Hustle

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BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: The Stone Foxes

BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: Thao And The Get Down Stay Down

BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: Diana Gameros

BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: Geographer

You’ve probably already noticed that we’ve elected rock-legends-in-waiting The Stone Foxes as our Artist Of The Month. We’ve got all sorts of great Stony Foxy stuff heading your way – starting with this great playlist of the band’s favorite songs. Enjoy!

1. Skaters – I wanna Dance

2. Tame Impala – Mind Mischief

3. Beastie Boys – Sabotage

4. Solange Knowles – Losing You

5. Raconteurs – Level

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BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: The Stone Foxes

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BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: Geographer

Blues, rock and country – they’re labels so simultaneously vague yet culturally ingrained that sometimes they seem to have lost all meaning. Pretty much any guitar based album in existence – and, to some extent, a number of genre-fusing hip-hop and electronic projects too – carry elements of this all-American heritage, be they proudly displayed as centerpiece artistic choices or tucked away as subtle undercurrents. Whether it’s sound, attitude, aesthetic, or a combination of all three … there are certain touchstones guitar music will always have to adhere to. Its just part of the deal, folks.

With this in mind, it’s easy to come to a natural conclusion: that to define a band as ‘blues-rock’ with hints of ‘country’ is to render them somewhat unremarkable. A drop in the ocean. A thumbprint on a skyscraper. In some cases (hell, let’s say in most cases) this wouldn’t be too far from the truth. In the case of California’s foot-stomping avengers The Stone Foxes, however, listeners can rest assured that their sound – while steeped in the vast, winding heritage mentioned above – is far from generic. Let’s put it bluntly: a rock to the head has always been a rock to the head since the first brawl between two cavemen. That doesn’t mean a perfectly-placed rock to the head in 2012 doesn’t carry with it a real fucking impact. Some things just don’t seem to mellow with age.

The Stone Foxes throw out rock with a capital R, blues with a capital B, and country with … well, maybe an odd smattering of uppercase font. Put it all together, and you’ll no longer be interested in literary deconstruction anyway – you’ll be too busy (in the time-honoured fashion of another American tradition) throwing your hands in the air like you just don’t care.

Some places like to bestow flowery names upon themselves; deliberately opaque monikers which say little to nothing about the location itself. California’s Central Valley, on the other hand, pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a valley. Which is central. Enough said.

Hardly surprising then, that such no-nonsense musicians evolved in such a no-nonsense environment. Frontman Aaron Mort grew up in this sleepy part of the Golden State, coming of age alongside brothers Spence Koehler (guitarist) and Shannon Koehler (drummer). The three would later attend San Francisco State University, at which point their reverence for mutual heroes – Bob Dylan, The Band, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Cream, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Rolling Stones, The Faces, Black Sabbath and Neil Young to name but a few (phew) – inspired them to start jamming together.

Voila: a band was born, and began to grow … along with the influences that propelled them. “We all love the blues and the ‘60s and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll, like Led Zeppelin, the Stones, the Beatles,” Aaron explained in an interview with the Santa Barbara Independent. “Collectively, we’re all in love with Bob Dylan and The Band, but individually we’re all in various states of getting into other musicians’ careers – Wilco, Jack White and all of his projects, Ben Kweller, guys like that. We’ve definitely kind of grown in our influences; it’s more bands that are playing now as opposed to bands from so long ago.”

It wasn’t just a love of rock history that saw them through those early days – Aaron’s grandfather was also a renowned producer who was happy to dish out both encouragement and studio space to these fledgling axe-grinders. Once they were joined by bassist Avi Vincour – who recently left the group to be replaced by the equally talented Elliot Peltzman – their creative notions were further solidified. Or to put it differently: now they could really rock.

It’s hasn’t been what you’d call a ‘meteoric’ rise by any means – such things are usually myths anyway, put forward by acts who stumbled into overnight success via blind luck (or extensive record company financing) – but The Stone Foxes have been slaving away non-stop since their formation in 2005 to ensure two things: a rabid fanbase and a double-set of fantastic studio albums.

The first of these albums – the self-titled ‘The Stone Foxes’ – emerged in 2008. A flat-out rocker, it slipped under the radar of much of the mainstream music press, but only helped to crystallise the Foxes as guitar gods in the eyes of their growing audience. Like all gods, however, they needed to round up more converts before they could truly claim their dominion. And that’s just what they set about doing – building a reputation as the live rock party act in SF, drawing in glowing feedback from all quarters. Your beer-sozzled punter who wants to get his rocks off on a Friday night? He loved them. Your serious guitar muso who lives for the riffs? He loved them. Original Blues Brother Dan Ackroyd? He loved them. Although whether or not he kept his shades on during the gig is anybody’s guess.

Anyway: by the time the Stone Foxes hit the release of their second album in 2010, the world was (just about) ready for them. ‘Bears And Bulls’ wasn’t just a rock album – if you were a Zeppelin-head looking for some noise to blow the cobwebs away, here were your twelve new favourite songs. It was guaranteed – your friends were definitely gonna hear all about ‘Mr Hangman’ or ‘Psycho’. The thing is: it was likely that your friends would have heard about them anyway, thanks to a wild reception from the press.

Oh, yeah – no-one was ignoring ‘Bears And Bulls.’ “The band live in the grooves,” enthused Bill Kopp at Muso Vibe, “and play like they mean it.” Bill Sullivan at Rock And Roll Report labelled the album an “instant treasure”, while the University Of Washington Daily went all-out, stating that “if rock ‘n’ roll needs a savior — and sometimes it feels like it does these days — The Stone Foxes make one incredibly compelling case.”

And – if you want to see that case made to its full extent – you really, really need to check out these guys live.

Live shows can often be a bit of a letdown, particularly to those audience members whose familiarities lie with the recorded versions of tracks. Onstage interpretations of favourite tunes can often sound muddled and indistinct, sacrificing cherished aural qualities to a woozy sludge. Proof of this can be found by listening to most live albums (which themselves are usually designed as cash-ins anyway). Sure, there’s occasionally a masterwork like Talking Head’s ‘Stop Making Sense’, but for the rest of the herd the lines are drawn nice and clear: if it was designed for the studio, it’ll sound better in the studio.

Not so with the Stone Foxes.

Their music is worked out live. It evolves live. It’s designed to be played live, first and foremost. The recorded versions are intentional interpretations of the live versions, as opposed to the usual practice of this being the other way around. Songs are debuted before an audience and then make their way to the home comforts of the studio.

A risky approach? In the wrong hands, yes. For The Stone Foxes, it’s an integral part of their craft. “We’ll never be a traditional studio band,” they state. “The songs are worked out on stage and are meant to be played live. All the instrumentation on the recording is the same as it is live.”

It’s this dedication to the live craft that has provided some incredible BAMM.TV performances, in particular from the band’s set at our SXSW Festival showcase in 2011. Their storming performance left an audience utterly stunned, and – as if that wasn’t enough – they also had plenty of nice things to say about BAMM.TV too.

“[Working with them provides] nothing but great things for a band,” Aaron said in an interview with Keyboard Magazine. “They give you great content, and you’re able to use it to get your stuff out there. These guys are pros. They absolutely care about the quality of content. In an era where 90% of live video quality is crappy, what strikes me as extremely timely and relevant is the quality of content they offer. We got lots of attention for Mr. Hangman.” Rightly so – the climbing-in-the-rafters euphoria of that particular number remains a BAMM highlight to this day.

Looking to the future, one of the most satisfying things is knowing that – what with their unique symbiosis between live and recorded music, plus their all-out rock passion – The Stone Foxes are only going to get better and better. Who knows? Maybe one day the frenzied performances we’ve captured so far will look relatively tame. One thing is for certain, though – we’ll still be head-banging in the front row as and when they do.

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BAMM.tv Artist Of The Month: Geographer

The phrase ‘Big in Japan’ has always been a bit condescending. Being successful there is supposed to be easy, because of the island’s famed love for anything different and western. The stock description has also been used to imply the artist in question just isn’t very good. But we hear it less and less, as the so-called borderless internet makes it impossible for stars to moonlight as rubber duck pedlars and credible musicians (check the two shameful examples below).

Are the musicians who only become successful abroad actually less cool? Is it just harder to get a successful career off the ground in the diminished pop markets of the US and the UK? And does it even matter anymore where you’re successful, when the music industry is in such a fragile state?

A report on global music markets by the IFPI last year found that the global recorded music sales had increased for the first time since 1999, by 0.2 per cent on 2011. Emerging markets were behind this trend, with Brazil, India and Mexico seeing sales grow by double figures.

Artists from the UK and the US have always looked abroad to foreign audiences, when home markets have been less appreciative. Many musicians and bands who have come to be seen as quintessentially British and American had their first breaks far away from home. Queen and Bon Jovi (below) were known abroad well before they were recognised, rightly or wrongly, as two of the most anthemic bands in the history of hair rock.

In some instances, artists have done their most exemplary, and representative work elsewhere. For example, Cheap Trick recorded their iconic album Live at the Budokan, playing to huge Japanese audiences, the greatness of which propelled them to fame in their native US.

Sometimes a country and an artist just click. Morrissey, who saw global fame with The Smiths, has an adoring foreign Latin American fanbase who prop up his otherwise less successful solo career. Despite his recent health troubles and tour cancellations in North America, the artist has still found time to tour Mexico, Chile and Peru.

He’s even written a song about his love for Mexico (called ‘Mexico’) and disdain for US environmental policy: “In Mexico/ I went for a walk to inhale/The tranquil, cool, lover’s air/I could taste a trace/Of American chemical waste/And the small voice said/”What can we do?” For his slightly dodgy solo anthem ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’, he appeared in full Chivas costume at the Hollywood Palladium (below).

The relationship between western markets and global music is more complicated. The occasional break-out success happens globally, such as Psy’s k-pop appetizer Gangam Style. But there’s much more success to be found closer to home for most Latin American and East Asian artists.

The popularity of Western pop music in Japan has instead been displaced by music (and other pop culture) from neighbours such as South Korea and China. The term ‘hallyu’ which translates to ‘Korean fever’ refers to the region-wide obsession with South Korean music, and television.

FAN POWER

The internet might be a borderless place, but that doesn’t mean much when it comes to the serious business of touring and racking up a loyal fanbase, willing to pay for singles and tour souvenirs.
You’d think the arrival of the interweb would have dramatically increased the chances of artists and bands breaking new audiences in far-away places.

But it’s harder than it sounds to set up online, even when you don’t have to distribute material goods. Subscription streaming service Spotify is launching in Mexico later this year, after having already conquered 28 other countries around the globe. But its progress outside of Europe has been halting because of wrangles over music rights.

In addition, low rates of internet take-up in some countries (for example, under 40 per cent of home in Mexico have internet access) mean that bands and artists can’t depend on the internet to make their name global.

The biggest obstacle might be that so much activity in emerging music markets happens offline. Music scenes are far richer and complex, partly because of their size and cultural mix. Famously, the Latin American market has always been huge, and jam-packed with different genres and regional variations in style. The first ever Central American Music Market was inaugurated in 2012, in a bid to harness the joint power of local music promoters and private companies.

Prior to the event, the market in the region was mainly propelled by fans, bands, and small outfits of venues and agents. In addition to the Music Market, the Circuita Fora do Eixco was established in order to consolidate existing music industry information networks.

The presence of a large Hispanic population in the US, keen to buy Spanish language music, makes the picture even more complicated – and potentially lucrative.

Music fans are often the most powerful factor in making their favourite bands and artists succeed in unexpected places. Sonia from BAMM explains how Latin American salsa travelled back – and forth to Japan: “Historically Japanese people have appreciated jazz very much. Through jazz they have found many Latin genres, one in particular they seem to really enjoy is Cuban popular music Timba/Salsa. It’s incredible how much they know about the music, study it and dance it.

“An interesting twist to that, is the migration of Peruvian Japanese people back to Japan. There aren’t many, but some folks from Perú with Japanese ancestry are back in Japan. Peruvian people are extremely infatuated with Timba/Salsa. So there is this weird circle on how the music, through different sources, has presence in a whole culture far away.”

And as we noted in an earlier BAMM feature, more acts are finding their way east and south, especially on the festival circuit. While it might seem like there’s simply more of the same everywhere, international festivals give local acts a chance to shine next to bigger well-known names.

It would be wrong and frankly uninformative not to end with the best comeback-in-Japan story ever – and a testament to the power of fans everywhere. The documentary Anvil (below), centered around the Canadian hair-metal band of the same name, depicts the band’s battle with obscurity, and the indifference of the music-buying public. However, by the end of the film, their fortunes are restored by a large, and unexpectedly packed concert in Japan.

In an interview with Japan Today, the band described the country with great affection. “Japanese do not forget. The movie depicts Japan as the hero – they are! We’re [going back to Japan], and are going to be playing for the people who love us most.”

ARTISTS WHO WERE ‘BIG IN JAPAN’ … OH, AND GERMANY, AND FRANCE …

1. Alyssa Milano

Yes, that Alyssa Milano who played the requisite sulky teen in the 1980s gender-swapping comedy Who’s The Boss? The actor struck a five album deal on the back of her television success, three of which went platinum in Japan. Check out the example below …

2. Scorpions

They always seemed the most quintessentially European band – mordant lyrics, mournful ballads, despite their initial success in the US. They even soundtracked one of the most symbolic and significant events in the history of Europe, with their lighter-waving ‘Wind of Change’ (below) – the fall of the Berlin Wall.

3.Naomi Campbell

The 1980s supermodel had a less well-known but shorter-lived career in Japan. She paired up with the Japanese soul superstar Toshinobu Kubota (sample single title: ‘Body-Cation’) for the what-it-says-on-the-tin song ‘La La La Love Song’. It sold a million copies abroad. Surprisingly, you might never have heard of it before – along with the ‘undiscovered’ classic ‘Love And Tears’ below.

4. Ireen Sheer

The Essex-born musician started her career in England, but decided to decamp to Germany. She’s even represented Germany and Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest. During her time abroad, she’s released over 20 best-selling albums. For premium early 90s Euro TV kitsch, watch the terrifying video below.

5. Charlie Winston

He’s France’s answer to David Gray, except he’s from Cornwall. Unlikely to get a free pie at his local pub, he nevertheless has sold upwards of 55,000 records in France (which is where he lives). He even sings in English, suggesting that we just weren’t that into him over here. His biggest hit over the Channel so far has been ‘Like a Hobo’ (below), off his first album.

6. Chris de Burgh

Best known for the 1980s wedding favourite ‘Lady in Red’, he is huge in Iran for unfathomable reasons (as evidenced in the video below). In fact, the Irish singer was the first Western performer permitted to play in the capital Tehran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

What are your thoughts on the ‘Big In Japan’ phenomenon? Share ‘em in the comments section below!

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BAMM In-Depth: Circling The Silicon Roundabout

If you’re a follower of BAMM.tv, you’ll no doubt be aware that we’re a global bunch. As well as our main HQ in San Francisco, we also have offices in London and Amsterdam, as well as fanbases in numerous other parts of the world (special hello to our legions of very vocal BAMMers in Taiwan!). Now we’re happy to announce that we’re spreading our worldwide reach that little bit further …

… and opening a BAMM.tv office in Düsseldorf.

Why Düsseldorf? Well, we like to think we can spy great opportunities when they pop up, and Dusseldorf is fast emerging as one of the most exciting cities for digital innovation, development and commerce. This is particularly true within the mobile sector: the city is often referred to as the ‘Mobile Capital ‘ of Europe.

At BAMM.tv we believe that mobile is the new frontier of entertainment consumption, and a key enhancement to next generation IPTV services that are popping up around the world. And while it may lack the name recognition of Berlin, the quality of life in Düsseldorf is among the best in the world.

We’ll let the official ambassadors for the city add more:

“In quality of living ratings, Düsseldorf was ranked sixth in global comparison and the top city in Germany. Düsseldorf’s cultural offering can easily match other big cities in the world. While offering art and cultural events many larger cities might envy, it has remained that rare thing – an exciting, yet relaxed cosmopolitan centre. Dependable political majorities and a political climate favouring businesses and entrepreneurship make Düsseldorf a prime target for investors.”

By moving in here, we’re adding another fantastic location to our roster … and we’re also looking forward to exploring the many wonderful aspects Düsseldorf has to offer.

But we’re not stopping here! This is just one of the many exciting global expansion programs we’re working on at BAMM.tv. Stay tuned for future developments – if we’re not already there, maybe we’re coming to a city near you…

Many a fight breaks out in the BAMM.tv office when it comes to the ‘who gets to ride the segway on their lunch break’ debate. Not the most blistering of confrontations, sure, but such arguments can’t help but make us think about some of the more epic feuds in the scrap-happy world of rock and roll. Here’s a look at five of the ‘best’ …

5. Jarvis Cocker vs Michael Jackson

Possibly the last time anything even remotely exciting happened at annual blandfest The Brit Awards – in 1996, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker grew tired of Michael Jackson’s messianic posturing during a performance of ‘Earth Song’, and proceeded to mimic the time-honored tradition of ‘farting in his general direction.’ Arrest and subsequent media frenzy ensued.

4. Jay Z vs Noel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher is not impressed with the fact that hip-hop megastar Jay-Z has been booked for (traditionally guitar-led) UK festival Glastonbury. Gallagher states this on several high-profile occasions. Jay-Z responds by emerging onstage to a sneering version of Gallagher’s ballad ‘Wonderwall’, thereby stepping the rivalry up a notch.

3. Courtney Love vs Dave Grohl

Where to start? Walking issue-magnet Courtney Love has long voiced her disdain for the ex-bandmate of her late husband Kurt Cobain, claiming – among other things – that Grohl has no legal stake in any of Nirvana’s creative output. Grohl maintained his image as the ‘nicest guy in rock’ by staying silent in public, commenting only via songs like ‘Let It Die’ (above).

2. Dandy Warhols vs Anton Newcombe

A rivalry so lengthy and intense it fuelled ‘Dig’, an entire documentary feature. While the Dandy Warhols are not known for being shrinking violets, their number one competitor Anton Newcombe (whose group The Brian Jonestown Massacre were tipped as being as big as the Dandies) is a full-on whirlwind of animosity and drama-queen tantrum.

1. Megadeth vs Metallica

After being kicked out of Metallica, Dave Mustaine went on to form Megadeth – one of the biggest, most successful, iconic metal bands in the world. It’s very telling that – despite this achievement – his resentment towards his former bandmates simmered nicely for the best part of two decades …

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Hope you’re enjoying our season of cool stuff from our Artist Of The Month Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – and we really hope you’ll keep your beady eyes on BAMM.tv towards the end of this week, when we’ll be unveiling an exclusive competition to win some personalised merchandise from the band themselves!

In the meantime, we’ve got something else very cool to share – we asked lead singer Thao Nyugen to pick her five favorite performances from the sprawling (and awesome, and amazing, and exclusive, and numerous other descriptive terms) BAMM.tv archives. Here are her choices:

Will Sprott – A Dog Will Love You When Nobody Else Will

A dog will indeed love you when no-one else will. Unless of course they’re those hell hounds from the end of Ghostbusters. You want to avoid those.

Tambores Julio Remelexo – Go Down

Ironically you won’t be feeling down after chilling out to this …

Forro Brazuca- Salsa De Reboco

Time to swing the night (or afternoon) away with these salsa shenanigans.

Lulacruza- Rio Contento

Enjoy the multi-layered melodies of this dynamic duo.

Great Lake Swimmers – Still

A memorable and moving song from their legendary performance at the 2011 BAMM.tv showcase at the SXSW festival.

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Thao Nyugen: What Is She Listening To Right Now?

BAMM In-Depth: Back To The 80s

The eagle-eyed among you (well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration – we’ll just settle for ‘those among you who have taken a look at our blog this past week’) will know that alt-folk-rock stars Thao & The Get Down Stay Down have taken the throne as our coveted Artist Of The Month.

As usual, then, we want to find out which tunes are tickling their earbuds right now. So we asked frontwoman Thao Nyugen to spill the beans. Here’s her top five …

Aha- “Take On Me’

Classic 80s pop with one of the best videos ever made.

Sia- “The Girl You Lost To Cocaine”

Another great video! Sia throws on more costumes than an entire wing of the Universal Studios Wardrobe Department.

Magnetic Fields – “Andrew In Drag”

We’ve mentioned them before as BAMM Legends – Thao obviously agrees with us.

Shugo Tokumaru – “Katachi”

Yet more awesome eclectic madness from the Japanese Beck.

M.I.A – “Bad Girls”

Maya throws herself into the middle of a car chase in her latest opus.

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Some bands are just too good to actually exist – should their awesomeness manifest itself in the real world, chances are the very fabric of reality could collapse in on itself. Maybe. Probably. Look, we haven’t researched the scientific logistics of the whole thing. We’re not Stephen Hawking, you know.

Take our hand (come on, its still not summer yet, you could use the body warmth) and join us for a rundown of the Top 5 Greatest Fictional Bands in history …

(Note: we decided not to include Spinal Tap in this list, because that would possibly be the most obvious thing ever, and we’re nothing if not contrary).

5. Wyld Stallyns – ‘Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure’

Okay, so they can’t actually play (despite a plot device in which their future songwriting skills help unite the planet in peace) but we’ll be damned if an evening at a Bill and Ted gig wouldn’t be the best party this side of 1988.

4. The Soggy Bottom Boys – ‘O Brother Where Art Thou?’

George Clooney gets in touch with his bluesgrass side – with remarkable singalong results – in The Coen Brothers’ 2000 comedy masterwork.

3. Three Times One Minus One – ‘Mr Show’

Hilariously bad spoof act from comic geniuses David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (whose TV comeback in recent years has seen him killing it in ‘Breaking Bad’). If these guys actually existed, there’s no doubt that even whistling one of their tunes would get you laid in a heartbeat.

2. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem – ‘The Muppet Show’

Our furry friends rock out to the utmost.

1. The Commitments – ‘The Commitments’

Often regarded as the best Irish film of all time, it’s very telling that the producers placed musical ability at the top of their casting wish-list. They wished, and they most certainly got it.

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BAMM.tv Rundown: The 10 Craziest Album Covers

BAMM.tv Rundown: 10 More Crazy Album Covers

‘Get down, stay down’ may sound like a direct command (imagine your clichéd ‘give me fifty’ drill instructor barking it in your ear) – but such straightforward bludgeoning really isn’t the style of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, the San Francisco act who just happen to be BAMM.tv’s new Artist Of The Month.

This isn’t to say that there’s no immediacy to their music. Thao Nyugen and her mainstay cohort Adam Thompson (the band members have previous included Frank Stewart and Willis Thompson) have crafted a body of work which – while loosely fitting within umbrella terms like alt-rock and folk-rock – opens up with multiple listens to reveal rewarding intricacies, unique vocal and musical flourishes, and melodies within melodies.

You may think you’re getting everything with a surface listen – and an enjoyable surface listen it definitely is – but sentiments like ‘you are a dead man/I just have to shoot the gun’ (‘Body’) and ‘I come back because the punches always hit the same’ (‘Trouble Was For’) show off a beguiling complexity. Think of similar creative multi-taskers like Broken Social Scene, Jim Ward, Cat Power, Fiona Apple and Feist – not a bad line-up to be mentioned alongside – and you’ll be close.

Or, y’know, just listen to them. (click ‘more’ to continue)

It’s a sound that Thao herself described to us as ‘loose and dirty … but with a good heart’, taking inspiration from “Motown, Stax, old country, country blues” as well as individual creative forces – “writer Grace Paley,” for instance, as well as “Paul Simon, The Kinks, Neutral Milk Hotel and the Byrds” – and moulding it into something entirely her own.

While many San Francisco-based artists (particularly those who spent their whole lives in the region) embrace a sound that many have come to see as unique to the city, Thao and her assorted bandmates are a somewhat more diverse prospect. Growing up in Falls Church, Virgina, Thao first picked up a guitar at the age of 12, the initial formation of the band happening in her college years – “we all met in VA in school,” she remembers, “and I asked the dudes to be my band because I was tired of being alone.”

Once further established, she set off on a whirlwind frenzy of touring – alongside critically-acclaimed artists such as Andrew Bird, Mirah and Laura Veirs – which took up most of her twenties. While undoubtedly part and parcel of the hard work that has ensured her success, this experience proved to be something of a baptism of fire (intriguingly, when we ask Thao what she considers her weakest moment to date to have been, she responds with a simple “my early twenties”).

She later settled in San Francisco, a place where she has clearly found a home and laid down roots, as demonstrated by what she conversely describes as her proudest moment to date: her work with the California coalition for women’s prisoners. “My membership in CCWP and the work I’ve been doing in prisons and the San Francisco County Jail are the most deeply I’ve ever dedicated myself to a cause outside myself,” she explains. “I’d been working with great groups like 826 Valencia and ATC and Oxfam America, but not in such a profound and personal way, and not with an organization that I felt needed me as a community member, not as a musician.”

Indeed, such is the impact that this work has had on Thao that the title track of new album ‘We The Common’ is dedicated to Valerie Bolden, a prisoner who she met during one of her visitations. This and other elements of San Francisco life have cumulated in an interesting artistic development. “My songwriting is more outward looking,” she reflects, “and I am more free and confident and the beats are fatter and the guitar is leaner. Band wise: Adam still plays bass. Everyone else is new to the lineup.”

Of course, if we want to analyse this artists development for ourselves, there’s no better way than cracking open the archives of the back catalog …

Thao Nyugen released her debut album ‘Like The Linen’ in 2005. It’s probably worth remembering that – in an age in which music and technology have intertwined to make a rapidly-changing landscape – 2005 might as well be 1750. No-one had heard of YouTube yet. Facebook was a college website. MySpace was beginning the ascent that would swiftly become a descent. And Thao … well, in terms of accomplishment, Thao was already way ahead of the curve. She was already pretty damn good.

Needless to say that ‘Like The Linen’ does feel like a debut – not so much someone ‘finding their feet’, but laying down solid foundations on which to build. It is easily her most straightforward and easy-to-pigeonhole work; while still imaginative and playful, the subtle experimentation and twists of later material were yet to emerge.

“Thao Nguyen’s compilation of ten songs is anything but complex, and this includes her lyrics,” wrote Matty Wise. “They tend to be rather romanticized, often talking about unrequited love, relationships, themes of that nature. “Most of her songs simply are a guitar, bass, and drum playing background to her voice. The guitar is bouncy, upbeat, but not overwhelming, and it carries the songs through. But what really shines is Thao’s voice.” Other reviewers saw the burgeoning eclectic force on display, such as Splendid Magazine’s Atossa Abrahamian, who mused that “her tendency to double- or triple-track her vocals is one of Like The Linen’s most distinctive trademarks. In other hands, this approach can be annoying, but Nguyen’s sound is so subtle and nuanced that hearing two or three of her at a time never seems like overkill.”

Three years later (rest of the band now namechecked) Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down unleashed ‘We Brave Bee Stings And All’, a record whose bravado-infused title perfectly reflected a bolder, more confident approach to both songwriting and music-making. “Nguyen’s inviting folk pop has some of Jolie Holland’s woozy swagger, a pinch of Beth Orton’s genteel grace, and endless reserves of energy,” raved Spin magazine. “Her deceptively sophisticated songs offer intriguing sketches of troubled lives … her aversion to standard melodrama makes her terse dispatches all the more convincing.”

“Some artists struggle to produce anything worth listening to after their debut,” wrote the similarly effusive Asia Xpress, “but like a banjo-wielding bard slaying a high-level boss, Nguyen has leveled up and refined her skills in We Brave Bee Stings And All. The album’s thoughtful, melodic poetry carries the same impact no matter how many times they’re heard.”

As if to acknowledge this leap forward in both critical and commercial success, it only took a year for the next aptly-titled album to emerge: 2009’s ‘Know Better, Learn Faster’. “We Brave Bee Stings and All played like a very personal, at times even lonely, coming-of-age story,” wrote Pitchfork. “By contrast, the follow-up is the post-party comedown, a collection of hard-learned lessons about love, sex, and human connection. Know Better Learn Faster is a more mature record, slightly disillusioned with the world, but no less playful and with no less personality.” Popmatters had an even more straightforward summation: “Know Better, Learn Faster is without a doubt one of the best indie folk-rock albums of the year.”

And so to the present day, and 2013’s brand new album ‘We, The Common’ (at least that’s the roster for Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down – Thao as a solo artist also released an album in 2011, in which she teamed up with fellow single-named singer-songwriter Mirah). Produced under the watchful eye of producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, Explosions in the Sky, The Walkmen), it’s a rollicking, energized and typically vibrant new entry in the canon of a hugely prolific artist.

Released to the usual reception of rave reviews, ‘We, The Common’ also expands on Thao’s natural affinity for collaboration with similar artists. ‘Kindness Be Conceived’ – one of the album’s many highlights – sees her teaming with indie superstar Joanna Newsom, while the video for the title track features an appearance from ‘This American Life’ host Ira Glass (whose weekly showcase of amazing human-interest stories ties in with Thao’s oeuvre perfectly).

Despite an ongoing musical journey full of such major accomplishments, it is Thao’s down-to-earth charm and perspective that stands as one of the major takeaways from her body of work. The band are still powered by “enthusiasm and drink tickets and sharpies,” her heroes remain “Mom, Grandma and Truth” and her dream gig would be “whatever show my grandmother would come to. Not that she doesn’t want to, she’s just very old”.

Best of all are her recollections of working with BAMM.tv. “I remember such kindness, amazing production value, professionalism and amazing beards,” she says. Well, now you’re just making us blush …

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