Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH first came together in 2004 and quickly earned critical and popular acclaim with the 2005 release of their self-titled (and self-released) debut. They toured nearly non-stop, pausing only to quickly record 2007’s Some Loud Thunder before hitting the road once more. As such, the band were understandably feeling a bit spent when the time came to consider Album No. 3. They briefly began woodshedding material in early 2009 but soon came to an agreement that perhaps a break was in order.

In April 2010, Ounsworth, Greenhalgh, and Tyler Sargent reconvened at Ounsworth’s home studio in Philadelphia as well as at CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH’s Brooklyn practice space. Their goal was to build a foundation of songs that could then be developed by the band in total.

Their first new album in more than three years, Hysterical marks a major milestone in the continuing evolution of CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH. Born out of an intensely collaborative process in which songs were constructed, dismantled, and then rebuilt anew, the album finds the band – Alec Ounsworth (guitar, vocals), Robbie Guertin (guitar, keyboards), Lee Sargent (guitar, keyboards), Tyler Sargent (bass guitar), and Sean Greenhalgh (drums, percussion) – at their most confident and creative, expertly expanding upon its already distinctive sound. From the chrome-plated licks of “Maniac” and the title track to the sheets of eddying synths and emotive motorik pulsebeats of “Into Your Alien Arms” and “Ketamine and Ecstasy,” the band delivers up sonically provocative pop music that is simultaneously jubilant, mesmeric, and altogether infectious. Hysterical reveals CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH to be a wholly developed band in full command of their unique artistic gifts.

With its elegant hooks, simmering atmospherics, and uncommon use of space and intensity, Hysterical widens the band’s idiosyncratic formula, incorporating a remarkably expansive tidal wave of sound, all multi-layered keyboard tracks and big, booming drums. Imbued with sweeping synthesizers, juddering bass, and all manner of percussive dynamics, songs like “Same Mistake,” “Misunderstood,” and the elongated piano-pumping epic, “Adam’s Plane” are marked by inventive and boldly articulated arrangements that form a veritable vortex of melody and rhythm.

Having come close to the brink, the extended gestation period that led to the new album sees CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH returning to action with rejuvenated strength and a spirit of true intent. With Hysterical, CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH came together and crafted something that feels fresh, invigorating and new, no less so than to the band themselves.
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”Even after three records,” Ounsworth says, “it almost feels like the beginning.”