Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

As the tenth anniversary approaches for one of my favorite band's debut album, I thought it no better time than to write about it. As obscure as they come, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah came on the scene with their self-titled album in 2005. A raw, gritty, country twang overlapped with acoustic indie guitar riffs, CYHSY paved the way for folk/rock acts like Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket. And although they never had quite the following as those other two acts, they still remain a hidden gem amongst the depths of the indie scene.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah opens with the jumpy rhythm of a carnival organ, Alec Ounsworth's bright vocals inviting you to "clap your hands" as the notes chop away. It's a short ditty that leads into "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away," a better testament to what the album actually sounds like. The song is easy and calming, fast but not upbeat. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon, as is the whole record.
And as the album rolls along like a good road trip, at first it's hard to overcome Alec's strange tone quality. The music is like warm water, that his voice cuts through like ice, and although I'm probably making this sound like it's a bad thing, it's what makes their music so memorable and interesting. And it's what drew me to their sound in the first place, besides the obvious fact that Daniel Radcliffe liked them, and of course at the ripe young age of 15 I had to like everything he did, so that when we met, he would think I was cool.
It's the perfect summer album, casual, reminds you of farms, ya know, and it flows altogether like one giant song broken up into 12 movements. Some just instrumental like "Sunshine & Clouds (And Everything Proud)," that sounds like children laughing, and some like "Heavy Metal," the most upbeat, catchy and standout song on the album.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is about as country as I get, they use just the right amount of harmonica, and I don't mind Alec's drawl when it's backed by guitars that don't twang. Like Zero 7 on of my previous posts, they are one of those bands that sound nothing like anything else I own, and they are perfect for when I crave that variety. (And no one has usually ever heard of them so they are awesome when you're trying to out-hipster someone, you're welcome.)
Obviously in the three albums that have come out by them since, their sound has grown and they've experimented, especially on their second album, the electronic Some Loud Thunder. They actually released their fourth album Only Run, last June and it featured a melting pot of their first three albums, even a collaboration with The National's Matt Berninger, on it. (That song is called "Coming Down" and it's awesome, by the way.)
But despite of their growth, I will always hold a fond nostalgia for the self-titled. None of their other albums quite grasps the flow and warmth that makes up that record. Right now the band is on tour celebrating the tenth anniversary of it. I don't think they're coming anywhere near St. Louis, so sadly I probably won't catch it, but they are printing the album on vinyl for it, and you know I'm going to be making a trip to the record store for that. Because let's face it, I actually live at the record store. What?

Songs that will make me sound cool to Daniel Radcliffe:
Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away
Over and Over Again (Lost & Found)
The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth
Heavy Metal
Blue Turning Grey
In This Home on Ice
Gimmie Some Salt