Clap your hands say finally

Play it: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Download: "Over and Over Again (Lost & Found)" (via CYHSY site)

This little band that could (and very much hyped in the blogmachine) finally makes it into the Rhapsody library this week. While I've been listening to the self-titled (self-released) debut in peice-meal form over the last few months, it's a welcome surprise to finally get to hear it in it's entirety (too bad it suffers from a Rhapsody-to-go error on a couple songs.)

Clap Your Hands Say Whatever
Because of all the hype and the album being on several folks' list as album of the year, my initial reaction to this release is... so what? I think much of the hype is because it was initially self-released, which makes for a great story (especially now that it's got major label distribution.) Couple that with the fact that they're from NY (from Brooklyn, no less, which is the next Montreal, right? ;) and you get a network of buzz that's been burning like wild(arcade)fire - and CYHSY are kind of like a happier version of said Arcade Fire hype-vets, both wearing their Talking Heads influences on brightly colored sleeves.

Your Hands Say You've Got the Clap
But it wouldn't make the hype-rounds if not for the fact that it is a quality release, and it really is a contagious sound. I must admit I'm hooked... this after not really getting some of the songs I'd heard prior. The album works as a whole, and I think listening to it out of the context of the album setting is what threw me off ("Is This Love?" is the song that made the rounds, and it really works better following the Modest Mouse-y "Skin of My Yellow Country," which is a great song.) The yodel-like vocals from frontman Alec Ounsworth (think Television's Tom Verlaine meets Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Magnum via Talking Heads-era David Byrne) can be off-putting at first, so I'm grateful to finally hear the whole enchilada... it's like a rash in my head I've been scratching a lot lately.

Unsnap Your Pants Say Ahhhhh
There's a certain fullness, that this album brings after repeated listenings. "In This Home of Ice" is particularly meaty, in a very Wedding Present kind of way, and I find myself figuratively with hands over my head reclined on a sofa after a Thanksgiving meal. Mmmm... pumpkin pie ("Over And Over Again (Lost And Found)" is kind of like desert... I'll settle for that now.)

tags: playlist, music, clap your hands say yeah, cyhsy