In the late ’60s, the Velvet Underground provided a lo-fi alternative to the lush psychedelic pop of The Beatles. VU met its fair share of mainstream criticism, but its lo-fi accessibility opened the floodgates for many young music fans eager to start their own bands. A lot has changed in the last 40 years. Any young chap with a few hundred bucks and a speedy laptop can start recording from his basement, and the Internet provides a robust avenue to present such music. However, it is not often that amateur recordings achieve more than a little exposure. The self-titled Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just might be the catalyst for the stirring community of independent-music appreciators who want to make their own statements without selling out to a label.
A few months ago, pitchforkmedia reviewed the debut LP from the Brooklyn five-piece band, bestowing it with praise and enticing its loyal readers with the prospect of strong melodic hooks amid a cerebral music landscape. However, the album was only available through an online CD store, and the demand far outweighed the availability of packaged CDs. Thankfully, the album has continued to spread to independent-music stores across the nation without the promotional services of a label.
Of course, the music matters the most, as the album wouldn’t give much inspiration without credibility. The dividing point of CYHSY will inevitably be the vocal stylings of singer Alec Ounsworth. He sounds like a cross between David Byrne and Rufus Wainright and shows little restraint. Undoubtedly, his performances are virtuosic but border on abrasive as he slurs and gnarls his lyrics and tints his peaks with guttural textures. His greatest feat may be his complete dynamic control best exemplified by “Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away,” in which he effortlessly glides into a full-on wail perforated by throatiness. As the element fully testing a dynamic range, his voice occasionally exposes the flaws in the recording, which distorts when he reaches his loudest peaks.
The rest of the music was composed with an assortment of synths, organ, harmonica, harp and treated guitars. The band builds heavily layered grooves that loop and vary as instruments are subsequently added. Some songs run too long, as the appropriately named “Over and Over Again (Lost and Found),” in which the last minute seems to be an endlessly repeated, enveloped groove of punctuated guitar and shimmering synths. “My Yellow Country Teeth” exemplifies a similar problem, devolving for 45 seconds into the simple, fat, buzzing synth loop that started it. The bass and drums, which give the song momentum and a creative playfulness, end up reinforcing its repetitiveness.
Small gripes aside, this album is one of the most unique and consistently enjoyable releases since Funeral by The Arcade Fire. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah never limit themselves to conventional rock arrangements, instead producing a lush palate of diverse textures. The album even includes two short instrumentals that result in a fluid listening experience. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah may lack an encompassing dramatic arch, but it remains a worthy statement of the band’s potential and is possibly the most interesting entry of the year thus far. It’s worth buying just to support the cause of independent-music production and distribution and to know your money won’t be filtered through a money-grubbing label.
Grade: B
