Some Loud Thunder

Performer: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Producer: Dave Fridmann
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Lyricist: Alec Ounsworth. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's self-released debut album defied the odds and became 2005's biggest indie success story, and their 2007 follow-up was one of the most anticipated releases of the year. SOME LOUD THUNDER was once again released by the band; however, the production values and overall musical scope took a clear step forward. The band brought in studio guru Dave Friedman to flesh out the sound and give a more robust sheen to a group that previously captivated with its lo-fi charms. Luckily, this doesn't undermine that very charm. Frontman Alec Ounsworth still wraps his simple pop confections in eclectic instrumentation and recording trickery. The album begins with a seemingly simple tune made weird by its caked-on, over-heated speaker crackle, while "Satan Said Dance" rides a maelstrom of electronic beats, pops, and hisses straight to the world's most twisted dance floor. Ounsworth still sounds like a more emo David Byrne signing for his life, which, though sometimes overly dramatic, is in fact the only constant on this otherwise warped, glorious mess of a pop album.

Rolling Stone (p.67) - 3 stars out of 5 -- The good bits are really good: Dig the goose-bump-raising refrain on 'Yankee Go Home'..." Spin (p.86) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his set of songs recaptures much of their original nonchalant magic. It's intentionally raw..." Entertainment Weekly (p.123) - "[T]he ragged charm of the band's rickety rhythms and singer Alec Ounsworth's strangled, mournful yelp endures." -- Grade: B- Q (p.99) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] mood of playful experimentation is evident throughout." Uncut (p.85) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "There are some brilliant moments here -- notably the winsome drift and melodic starbursts of 'Mercury Walks An Orange Sun/She Arrives In Relative Stitches'."

Playing smartly crafted indie-pop that is instantly accessible yet defies easy categorization, Brooklyn, NY's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah took the music world by storm in 2005 on the strength of a single self-released album. Seemingly overnight, the band became talk-of -the-town fodder (David Bowie acknowledged himself as a fan) and started playing to sold-out crowds. A major-label bidding war followed, the offers from which the band famously turned down.

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