S/T

The story of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is actually two stories: On one hand is the overnight-sensation story, where over the span of last summer the band’s self-released debut became the hipster-must-have of the year thanks to a blog-and-Pitchfork.com-fueled Internet buzzstorm. On the other hand—that hand you’re slapping into its partner in a loud clap while saying, “Yeah! Fuck yeah!”—is the story of a wide-open, energized slice of fresh music that deserves its hype. The CD sucks you in with its insistent drumming and breezy melodic bass-lines, and once you warm up to frontman/songwriter Alec Ounsworth’s David Byrne-ish affectation, it’s over. You’re addicted to the way he draws out lines (“tiiiime has gotten by/ on alibis and wiiiine” from “Over and Over Again”), and you can’t help but sing loudly along with the emotional wailing of songs like “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” and the hyper closer “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood.” If you’ve ever enjoyed dancing wildly around your bedroom and singing into your thumb to The Cure, Neutral Milk Hotel, or The Arcade Fire, then invite your friends over, kick off your shoes and clap along.