Clap Your Hands Say Yeah rock the ‘Net

By Charles Young
George Washington High School

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is the biggest band in the country that no one has ever heard of. Within a week of posting its homemade, self-titled debut album on the Internet, the band sold nearly 45,000 copies out of its manager’s apartment.

The Internet exposure, a rave review from hipster music site Pitchfork Media and a “Hot New Band” spot on Rolling Stone’s annual “Hot List” helped the band to get signed to British indie label Wichita Recordings and to gain prime exposure on last summer’s festival circuit.

“Clap your hands!” commands the bizarre carnival barker voice on the record’s opening track. “But I’ve got no money,” responds the mournful choir. “Clap your hands!” the voice cries again.

In true indie-pop style, this tone of fresh-faced optimism carries on throughout the record. Lead singer Alec Ounsworth blends his genuine, mumbling, beautifully out-of-key vocals with a whirlwind of keyboard driven guitar-pop.

Ounsworth’s unique nasal vocals have led to many David Byrne comparisons, but stuttering his way through tracks like “Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away” and “Is This Love?,” he sounds more like an upbeat “Murmur”-era Michel Stipe.

From the first time Onunsworth’s voice cracks to the biting harmonica, the track “Details of The War” is perfect. The drifting vocals paired with acoustic guitar pull the song together, leaving the listener with the bittersweet feelings of love and heartache.

The album’s opus comes on the majestic “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth.” The song highlights the Clap Hand’s matchless rhythm section, made up of drummer Sean Greenhalgh and bassist Tyler Sargent.

“You look a bit a coffee and you taste a bit like me,” wails Onunsworth on the song.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are the spokesmen for a new generation of DIY-ers known as blog rockers, who are fed up with the hypocrisy of the record industry and take to the Internet looking for success. Though more bands are taking this alternative route to stardom, few have been able to find it as well as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.