Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your
Hands Say Yeah
Some Loud Blunder (Wichita Recordings;
January 2007)

When Brooklyn indie rockers Clap Your Hands
and Say Yeah debuted with their eponymous album in 2005, the
bloggers welcomed them with open arms. Word spread so fast on the
internet, in fact, that Clap Your Hands soon found themselves
inundated with record deals and were even forced to repress their
CD as demand for the album escalated. How very disappointing then,
that the sophomore slump has hit them so hard with their new
release, Some Loud Thunder.

Aesthetically speaking, this album is not very pleasing.
Neophytes of indie rock will find themselves annoyed into the fetal
position by singer Alec Ounsworth’s cartoony voice. The
instrumental elements of the album are often very pleasing, but are
invariably soiled by irritating vocals; I challenge you to listen
to “Five Easy Pieces” without covering your ears. This album does
have its moments, including “Underwater,” and “Goodbye to the
Mother and the Cove,” but in the end, it pales in comparison to the
first.