Thao Nguyen

Wed., March 26, 8 p.m., $10-$12, all ages, with Xiu Xiu and Br'er, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

by M.J. Fine

Rock/Pop

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Commitment's tough. There's such a scary gulf between push and pull, catch and release, kiss and chase. Virginia native Thao Nguyen keeps going back and forth between begging someone to stay and taking off on her own, but on her second album, she seems to be figuring it out. "I am going away/ But not from you/ I have found the difference between the two," she sings on "Yes, So On and So On," from We Brave Bee Stings and All (Kill Rock Stars). So, too, she and her band, The Get Down Stay Down, don't commit to one genre. "Big Kid Table" is a twee-pop stroll and "Swimming Pools" a bluegrass strut; "Feet Asleep" starts as country, turns into soul and ends with Nguyen singing a cappella over handclaps. Whether she's pondering her mother's laundry business or someone who can neither love her nor leave her, she somehow sounds both weary and full of wonder. Listen to how she asks "Did he hurt you in a new way?" on "Fear and Convenience." It's a jaunty taunt, but there's no anger in Nguyen's phrasing; while the cheery trumpet might signify ulterior motives, there's nothing but empathy in her voice.

Wed., March 26, 8 p.m., $10-$12, all ages, with Xiu Xiu and Br'er, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.