Thao & The Get Down Stay Downthe San Franciscobased band fronted by singer and songwriter Thao Nguyenreleased their fourth album, A Man Alive, on March 4, 2016. Following the critical success of We The Common (2013), which was largely inspired by Thaos volunteer work with the California Coalition for Womens Prisoners, A Man Alive is an evolution in both subject matter and sound. Thao says: I wanted A Man Alive to be beat- and bass-drivenrather than guitar-basedextending and elaborating upon the hip-hop influences of the previous record. A Man Alive is more instrumental, more riff- and loop-centric, and has more manipulated sounds. The Get Down Stay Down are at their best on this record, and Thao herself experimented with programming drumbeats for several tracks, although live drums are also played on every song.