Expansionist Poetry At The Fire & Ice Ball.

I have been a fan of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah since I first saw their band name on a bill at Northsix last fall. At that point in time, I was also getting into Chin Up Chin Up, so the discovery of yet another band with a ridiculously cool name was a certain plus. But as time wore on, I found myself drawn more and more to the floating, haunting beauty that lay within CYHSY’s songs. At the time, their website housed only three mp3s: “Details Of The War”, “Tidal Wave” and “Home On Ice”. Each was teeming with gorgeous details, yet all were inevitably stamped with the trademark, nasally emotional vocals of Alec Ounsworth. I exhausted each mp3 over the course of the following months, until finally I received a welcome surprise in the mail: a music submission by none other than one of my favorite bands. And so began the magical mystery tour…

You Look Like David Bowie. But You Have Nothing New To Show Me.
- “Over And Over Again (Lost And Found)”.

Since the first day I received the eponymous debut album from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, it has remained a persistent joy to listen to. It is one of the few albums by independent artists that is a complete entity. Immediately it is apparent to the listener that this piece was created from the meeting of brilliant musical minds, one that was dwelled over and tweaked till perfection. Each song layers perfectly into the next, sustaining moods of wonder, love, passion and cynicism. It is truly a journey into the hearts and minds of Alec Ounsworth, Sean Greenhalgh, Robbie Guertin and the Brothers Sargent (Tyler and Lee respectively).

The album begins with a Sgt. Pepper-esque interlude aboard a heaving sea and wooden ship. The organ bellows along as the band swirls their voices into a makeshift carnival. Little instrumental details delight, like the xylophonic backgrounds and the megaphone-distortion on Ounsworth’s vocals. Amidst the musical cacophony lie lyrics that would make Lewis Carroll proud:

As time along stands still for some stuffed sailor up
With eyeball sun
And if by castle ship should stray
It has like you no chosen fate
For it’s tongue-tied caboose that leads this ragged lad,
This finger-flipping mom and dad
(For what is worth some aimless steer?)
And should mouth confuse my foggy mirror
And reveal what is not there
I shall take this unbound train away…

After a glorious vignette such as this, it seems certain that the boys from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will not disappoint.

There Is Nothing Left To Fear. No Now That Bigfoot Is Captured.
- “Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood”.

“Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away” follows the illusionist “Clap Your Hands!” with a soothing aural collage of finger-plucked guitars and harmonized vocals. Again the music becomes the sum of its parts, with the wonderful details abounding among the keyboards, tambourines and distorted rhythm guitars.

This song is in fact a key example of what makes Clap Your Hands Say Yeah so damn great. The band takes what would be a simple melody and layers it until it’s something wholly unique. Within this musical landscape are lyrics that astound in their beauty and truth, e.g. “So go salvage/Some of that human dignity/It’ll be a long/Hard/Road”. It is a formula that The Beatles used to perfection, and throughout the album, CYHSY remains true to this sparkling ideal.

Scattered among the many masterpieces are those original website mp3s that were the band’s calling card. However, they are now almost unrecognizable, as post-production has enhanced them entirely. “Details Of The War” has its own introduction in the form of “Sunshine & Clouds (And Everything Proud)”, a pretty and quaint ditty that’s reminiscent of a jewelry box tune. “Details” itself is decidedly more mature than its original mp3. It swirls moodily through the speakers, accelerating at just the right points and howling towards emotional highs.

“Tidal Wave” is now “Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood”, one of the record’s catchiest songs. A guitar skips through the steady beats and keyboards, careful not to overwhelm the chipper delivery of Ounsworth’s lyrics. This song in particular bears witness to Ounsworth’s undeniable talent; he repeats phrases in monotone until they become distorted in their nasal qualities. Yet all the while, the band correctly keeps itself on the fair side of the avant-garde line. It is this innate sense of self-control that the band possesses which contributes to the fullness and completeness of the record.

Finally, there’s “Home On Ice” [“In This Home On Ice”]. The vocals are slightly distorted and overlapped, which provide an interestingly harsh contrast to the beautifully melancholic guitar lines. The chorus features fleshed-out harmonies on the vocals, and the background bass lines feel fuller as well. Overall, it is one of the many gems of the album, equal parts wondrous and ennui-laden, majestic yet simple.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are now not only one of the premier New York City bands; they have now risen to the status of national contenders, a serious musical force that bears a welcome departure from the cultural norm. This is an album so full of surprises and gifts that each listen unfolds something new for the ears to behold. It gives hope to all of us that are waiting for the tidal wave, the seismic shift in music that will push things back towards their rightful places. CYHSY are certainly a step in the right direction.

In This Home On Ice

Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood

Over And Over Again (Lost & Found)

She did the things that we all did before now/But who forgave her? -S.