Thao with the Get Down Stay Down do it again

I know I’m not alone in developing crushes on musicians simply because their album has blown my mind, so I won’t get too embarrassed as I gush about the most recent object of my affection. Thao With The Get Down Stay Down will be releasing the follow-up to their critically acclaimed We Brave Bee Stings and All on Oct. 20.

All I have to say is, the first kiss the album gave to my ears put butterflies in my tummy and made me wonder if it was too early to call about our next date.

What I’ve found so utterly fantastic about the new disc, Know Better Learn Faster, is that it’s impossible to nail down an exact genre of music for this to fit into. Sure you can put baby in a corner with the other indie kids but it’s so much more than that.

The opening track, “The Clap” is, thankfully, not about an STD. It’s more of a Southern ho-down led by Coco Rosie warning you, “If this is how you want it, OK, OK." Hell yeah this is how I want it; bring it.

Suddenly we are taken into “Cool Yourself” which delivers one of the best lyrics of the album (and there are many), “I will love you like this now, you can recognize it later,” which is a sentiment I know I’ve dealt with so often in my past and is put together so succinctly here.

The title track is an absolute favorite and happily, the folks over at Kill Rock Stars have made it available to download/stream for free. Check out the song and just try to tell me you aren’t convinced of its awesomeness.

The instrumentation and musicality of Thao and her partners in The Get Down (Adam Thompson on bass, keys and additional guitar, and Willis Thompson on drums and percussion) is really rather remarkable. Perhaps I’m a sucker for using children’s choirs and hand clapping as instruments but I will also raise you a glockenspiel, slide guitar, violins and horns. TWTGDSD masterfully ebbs and flows from pop-rock to '60s jazz to East and West Asian influences seamlessly while her voice is the crazy glue that binds the album together.

You heard it here first: This is a must-have for any CD collection.