Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Brooklyn five-piece Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are the latest word-of-mouth sensation to power their way into the mainstream. Their debut album allegedly sold 25,000 copies around the States--all packaged and dispatched from the band's front room--before they signed a deal.

Opening with the incongruous yet compelling carnival song "Clap Your Hands!" the album unfurls in an undulating manner. The principal musical terrain is melodic indie-rock, but the band's well-constructed songs enable them to increase or decrease the density quota with ease. Stripped down tracks like "Over & Over Again (Lost & Found)" and "Details Of The War" balance fuller tracks like "Heavy Metal" and "In This Home On Ice" and are punctuated by coy vignettes like "Sunshine & Clouds (And Everything Proud)" and "Blue Turning Gray". The distinctive, wailing vocals of Alec Ounsworth have been-justifiably--likened to David Byrne; but while their sound can be compared to Talking Heads, Interpol and Yo La Tengo in places, it's very much their own. For once, a band that deserve the hype. --Paul Sullivan