Last time Thao Nguyen was in town, she was the opening act for Xiu Xiu, and it couldn't seem like a stranger pairing. Thao, with her bubbling, strumming, child-like pop, offered about as startling a juxtaposition as possible to Xiu Xiu's fitfully emotional and generally traumatized approach—in a way, it was like all of the good childhood memories gone terribly, horribly awry. Since then, Thao and her band have solidified their presence in the minds of music fans, as their most recent album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, has managed to stand up to the test of a little time. So on this visit to Austin, Thao, who has graduated to "unquestioned headliner," has a more sensible tour partner in Horse Feathers, and the two stunning acts will be making Wednesday night at Emo's about at satisfying as possible.

While Thao with The Get Down Stay Down claim both Washington, D.C. and San Francisco as their home, Horse Feathers reside in a wash of reverb in Austin's oft-cited sister city, Portland. The band is the brainchild of Justin Ringle, and his voice and guitar drive the folksy but energetic music. The follow up to their slept-on but very good 2006 release Words Are Dead, entitled House with No Home, is due out September 9, so we should get a fine view of many of the new songs.

Altogether, this should be an excellent show, featuring two up-and-coming acts who can play their instruments, and actually go well together—if you want to catch the action for free, slide your name and email into the dandy little contest entry form on the other side of the jump.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down [MySpace] [Official]
Horse Feathers [MySpace] [Label]

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