Album Review: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

It’s becoming a familiar story; band discovers the internet; internet falls in love with the band; .mp3s circulate and before any record label can say, “sign on the dotted line,” the band have already hawked thousands of copies online. The Arctic Monkeys may be this island’s most famous exponent of the internet, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have been doing the same thing across the Atlantic. But, for those of us who prefer artwork, liner notes and stuff, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have released their debut album in the UK through Wichita.

Before we begin, let’s get this out of the way; yes, vocalist Alec Ounsworth sounds more than a bit like David Byrne. But to deride the album on those grounds would be preposterous. The tone may be similar, but Ounsworth staggers his way through the album with such a giddying slur that the imperfections in his voice succeed in embellishing the tight arrangements that surround it.

The maniacally kitsch carnival of the eponymous opener recalls Tom Waits, but, while dazzling, it’s not indicative of what follows. Only the dreamlike ramble at the conclusion of the track sets the tone for the rest of the album. The rampant tambourine and crisp drum rolls of Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away follows and is quickly succeeded by the crazed synths and tangled guitar of Over And Over Again (Lost And Found).

Details Of War is as close to a torch song as the band are ever likely to record. Ounsworth leaves his Byrne impression aside, adopts a weary croon and ends up sounding like Seven-era Tim Booth. The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth, with its buzzing synth, Modest Mouse-esque trebly guitar and shuffling drums, is another stand out. Here, Ounsworth is entirely in his element. With the urgency ramped up, his voice cracks and then cascades to the song’s conclusion. Immediately after, last year’s single, Is This Love?, has Ounsworth offer his most dizzying harmony; a pattern which carries over onto Heavy Metal, arguably the poppiest track on the album and, also, perhaps the most extraordinary.

But, just as you might fear the album will collapse under the weight of ambition; incredible album closer Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood conclude with the needle being simply pulled from the record. Ounsworth has barely finished caterwauling the plight of child stars and the band are locked into a hypnotic melody; the terse silencing of the song and of the album mid-flow is entirely unexpected, but then Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are a band with little time for subtlety.

Where the band go from here is anyone’s guess, but as an opening gambit, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is nothing short of staggering.