Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Some Loud Thunder - 6.7

Nobody would be guiltier of over-hyping the sophomore album from CYHSY then me (hell, Hank and I wrote a movie around their first album). Sadly, I cannot say too many good things about this great bands recent release. Everything that is amazing about their self-titled album seems to be absent. The opening track is misleading. "Some Loud Thunder" is a fun lo-fi track that boasts Alec Ounsworth's trademark singing...a sound that is lost on all the other tracks minus "Satan Said Dance" a track that has a better demo version then the final. I found myself asking why the band deviated from what brought them success but I guess the answer is found in the constant curse of the sophomore album. Bands want to go where they haven't before...but I want to draw CYHSY a map back to their old stuff. The highlight (a small keychain flashlight in Mammoth Cave) of the album is "Goodbye to the Mother and the Cove" a masterpiece that can be easily turned away from at first listen because of its simplicity. The track opens with a dripping drum beat and dueling guitars. Ounsworth doesn't even sing until 1:18 into the song and when he does it comes in strong. The song later pops out with synths and hard drums. Overall my disappointment can't be measured by anything man made or described by any human language (this blog entry contradicts this statement but shut up). I only have this to say...come back CYHSY, come back.

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