Phases & Stages

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Some Loud Thunder

The success of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's self-titled, self-released, and self-distributed 2005 debut album overshadowed the music itself as the album came to epitomize the power of industry buzz in the digital age. Some Loud Thunder, the long-awaited follow-up by the Philadelphia/Brooklyn-based quintet, struggles to overcome this hype but makes good overall. If anything, the title track is an attempt to debunk the band's own cultish status and to freak-out fair-weather fans as singer Alec Ounsworth's slurred vocals are fed through an abrasive distortion device that peels the skin off your yellow country teeth. "Satan Said Dance" is a spastic and surprisingly enjoyable toe-tapper, while "Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in the Air and Burning?" layers off-kilter harmonies. "Yankee Go Home" hints at more grandiose ambitions, but this time around, no celebratory hand gestures are required.