Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder

Stunning second offering from Philadelphian quintet

Downright weirdness and the US alternative scene have always gone hand-in-hand. Add to that mix the production techniques of a certain Dave Fridmann (a man whose leftfield approach to the mixing desk has graced landmarks from both Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips), and the kaleidoscope of sonic burps, glitches and ticks splinters beyond all semblance of faint notions of ‘the norm’. On the opening title track, the David Byrne-esque vocal of CYHSY lynchpin Alec Ounsworth shimmers across an otherwise traditional guitar backing. At the close, we hear Five Easy Pieces, a hymnal two-line wordless chant that drones on and on; and in between there are moody instrumental interludes (Upon Encountering The Crippled Elephant), longstanding live favourites (Satan Said Dance) and plaintive Phil Spector’s Christmas Gift To You soundalikes aplenty. There’s such a breadth of ideas one one record that’s only really matched contemporarily by the likes of Beck or The Arcade Fire – high praise indeed. Some Loud Thunder is simply a fantastic record, in parts grating and annoying, at other times soporific and beguiling. The great tragedy is that it may get completely overlooked in favour of slicker, more ready-made ‘indie’. There are moments of beauty and downright brattishness, but each and every one is worthy of investigation.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Wichita | WEBB 117 CD

Reviewed by Jake Kennedy
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