Thao’s been a favorite around here since her beautiful contribution to last year’s Kill Rock Stars compilation The Sound The Hare Heard, prompting us to dig up her debut full-length Like The Linen. That title has meaning; she spent her high school years working at her mom’s laundromat in a D.C. suburb, passing time between customers playing her acoustic. (She credits her intricate fingerpicking to “years of laundry oragami.”)

Now it’s time for a Kill Rock Stars debut. We are psyched. And in love with this song. No evidence of her Linen years, at least not in the acoustic attack; Thao’s strumming it out on “Beat (Health, Fire, And Life),” bringing full band and a brass section to her rich vocals and the tune’s lilting melody. And she’s got revealing couplets to spare: “How can you stand it / When I run, when I run like a bandit / I wear him like a habit / In the lining of my jacket.”

• Thao Nguyen – “Beat (Health, Life, And Fire)”Download

We Brave Bee Stings And All is out 1/29/08 on Kill Rock Stars. For those needing a primer, here are some oldies and very goodies, starting with her The Sound The Hare Heard track:

• Thao Nguyen – “Feet Asleep” 

And there’s this…

• Thao Nguyen – “Chivalry”Download

Make sure to grab “Hills” and “Moped” here, and listen to more at MySpace.

Thao tour:
11/08 – New York, NY @ Joe’s Pub
11/09 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
11/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Puck