Thao & Mirah is a collaborative studio album by Thao Nguyen & Mirah, released in 2011 on Kill Rock Stars. In support of the album Thao and Mirah toured with indie music artists such as BOBBY.[1] It was well received by music critics;[2][3][4] according to Pitchfork, "everything on Thao & Mirah feels of a cohesive collaborative piece, separate from either artist's solo work, a combination that synthesizes their individual strengths to outstanding effect."[3]

Thao & Mirah
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 26, 2011 (2011-04-26)
GenreIndie rock
Length40:13
LabelKill Rock Stars
ProducerTune-Yards
Mirah chronology
(a)spera
(2009)
Thao & Mirah
(2011)
Changing Light
(2014)

Background

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In early 2010, Mirah performed with Thao Nguyen at the Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco. The two later announced a 2010 North American tour, billed under the name Thao and Mirah With The Most of All.[5] Mirah and Thao performed a collaborative set and shared vocal duties on each artist's respective songs. The two artists subsequently recorded Thao & Mirah.[6]

Production and release

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Thao & Mirah was produced by Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards and recorded in San Francisco, California. It was released on April 26, 2011 (2011-04-26) on the record label Kill Rock Stars.[6]

The two toured in support of the album while working with Air Traffic Control, an organization that provides artists a platform for social activism.[7] To support the album, Thao and Mirah have toured with indie music artists such as BOBBY.[1]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
The A.V. ClubB−[10]
Consequence of Sound     [11]
Dusted Magazinefavorable[12]
Paste8.8/10[2]
Pitchfork7.9/10[3]
PopMatters          [13]
Tiny Mix Tapes3.5/5[4]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76% based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

According to Pitchfork, "Some songs are more clearly led by one singer or the other-- Mirah's mournful unreeling on "Spaced Out Orbit" or Thao's rusty guitar slide and junkyard drum clatter of "Squareneck"...but everything on Thao & Mirah feels of a cohesive collaborative piece, separate from either artist's solo work, a combination that synthesizes their individual strengths to outstanding effect."[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Eleven" (featuring Tune-Yards)4:01
2."Folks"2:54
3."Little Cup"3:35
4."Rubies and Rocks"4:03
5."Teeth"2:52
6."Spaced Out Orbit"4:24
7."How Dare You"2:59
8."Sugar and Plastic"2:03
9."Likable Man"3:34
10."Hallelujah"4:08
11."Squareneck"3:39

Personnel

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Thao + Mirah

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[14] 7

References

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  1. ^ a b Lipsitz, Ari (April 28, 2011). "Bobby, Thao And Mirah On Thweedle-Laden Tour". CMJ. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Oliphint, Joel (April 26, 2011). "Thao & Mirah: Thao & Mirah". Paste.
  3. ^ a b c d Grandy, Eric (April 27, 2011). "Thao & Mirah: Thao & Mirah - Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media.
  4. ^ a b Hemmerling, Joe (June 16, 2011). "Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah - Music Review". Tiny Mix Tapes.
  5. ^ Mirah and Thao to Tour Together
  6. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (January 25, 2011). "Thao and Mirah Team for Album | News". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  7. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (2011-12-04). "Music News & Features | Listen & Download MP3s". eMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  8. ^ a b "Thao & Mirah by Thao & Mirah". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  9. ^ Hoffman, K. Ross. "Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah". Allmusic.
  10. ^ Gordon, Scott (April 26, 2011). "Thao & Mirah: Thao & Mirah - Music". The A.V. Club.
  11. ^ Mojica, Frank (May 2, 2011). "Album Review: Thao & Mirah – Thao & Mirah". Consequence of Sound.
  12. ^ Carroll, Tobias (April 25, 2011). "Dusted Reviews: Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah". Dusted Magazine.
  13. ^ Pan, Arnold (April 28, 2011). "Thao and Mirah: Thao and Mirah". PopMatters.
  14. ^ "Thao & Mirah - Chart history - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
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