With its pitter-patter drums, casually spun vocals, and folksy mentality, Thao Nguyen’s music has a distinct coffee-shop feel. However, you won’t be finding Like the Linen, the songwriter’s latest CD, stashed beside copies of Alanis Morissette’s acoustic release at your neighborhood Starbucks. There’s a slight rasp to Nguyen’s singing—a grittiness she attributes to Lucinda Williams—and her unhurried melodies are contrasted by frenzied, fingerpicked guitar notes that brew beneath the surface. This isn’t whipped-cream-topped Frappuccino rock—it’s the real deal.

A recent slew of summer gigs had Nguyen crisscrossing the East Coast like a campaigning politician, but the D.C. native honed her skills in the metropolitan area before the tour van doubled as her home.

“I used to sing with a good friend in high school,” the college-aged songwriter remembers, “and we'd beg to stay out late on weeknights and play open mics. I think we played every one in the city.”

Even customers in her mother’s laundromat were treated to impromptu shows. Nguyen would work on songs behind the counter, occasionally pausing to make change for the customers or fold strangers’ clothes. In fact, her Web site jokingly credits her guitar skills to “the finite hand movements cultivated by years of intense laundry origami.”

The linens may not deserve all the credit, but Thao Nguyen’s hands are remarkably agile on her record. Nimble arpeggios give “Tallymarks” a warmth reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel, while a trebly bluegrass solo turns “What About” into a tasteful hoedown. And when she tunefully admits, “I’m not a fast talker,” on standout track “Turn Century,” her waltzing guitar is more than happy to pick up the pace. It’s this counterbalance—the constant tug-of-war between the guitar’s velocity and the voice’s relaxed pitch—that makes Like the Linen so striking.

Although Nguyen lives in Williamsburg (where she attends William & Mary) during the school year, memorable experiences from her East Coast jaunt bode well for additional tours.

“Shreveport, LA was a really warm crowd,” she says. “I think everybody came up and said “thanks” and gave us a hug. Two drunk girls came up and started humping me, which was...terribly uncomfortable, but nice of them. I should have directed them to the guys in the band.”

To hear what the drunk girls are humping about, visit Thao Nguyen’s website at www.thaomusic.com.