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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

EMAILPRINTby Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah reviews
84
8.5 User Score:

Album Info

Label: [self-released]

Release Date: 28 June 2005

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Indie, Rock

Summary

Combine a singer who sounds more than a little like David Byrne, some solid indie-rock tunes, blurbs on all the right blogs, and a glowing review from Pitchfork and it all adds up to quite a buzz for this Brooklyn band's debut disc. Now all they need is a record deal.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Billboard

CYHSY is at the best point in the lifecycle of a band: un-styled, simply produced and deserving of the hype for what is -- quite possibly -- a nearly perfect album.

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91

Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

What sticks out right off is a drive that can't be taught or approximated.

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90

Prefix Magazine

Total immersion in the passion of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah reveals the true power of music as a means of artistic expression.

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90

Delusions of Adequacy

When they began their self-titled debut, they were uncertain kids from Brooklyn making a record from all the music they had ever known. They’re leaving veterans of the game with obvious talent and colossal potential.

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90

No Ripcord

I can tell that you are dubious, but I can assure you, gentle listener – these are the goods.

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90

Pitchfork

The record is consistently, remarkably strong.

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90

Tiny Mix Tapes

An album which will force even the most hardened listeners to throw in the towel.

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90

Lost At Sea

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah gets my pick for summertime album of the year.

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90

Dot Music

This is a very, very good record.

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90

Trouser Press

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is worthy of the attention, as it reveals a band of great ability and confidence brimming with ideas.

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84

cokemachineglow

CYHSY’s songs ring of The Bends-era songwriting, but loungier, more playful, more comfortable in their own skin.

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83

E! Online

A set of really great songs.

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83

Stylus Magazine

If there are complaints to lobby against this remarkable debut, they lie mostly in its sound-quality. Namely, it sounds like what it was: self-recorded and self-released.

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80

Under The Radar

[An] exceptional debut. [#11, p.109]

80

Drawer B

By turns goofy, intellectual, and non-sequitur lyrics are indecipherable without the lyric sheet, but the strangely alluring charm of songs like "The Skin of My Country Yellow Teeth" will have you clamoring for more.

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80

Blender

A giddy funhouse of a record. [Oct 2005, p.136]

80

Q Magazine

An unpolished gem. [Feb 2006, p.104]

80

Mojo

Ounsworth's slurred vocals are a dealbreaker. [Feb 2006, p.92]

80

musicOMH.com

For a debut album, this is remarkable stuff and hints at even better things to come.

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80

Playlouder

So once you get behind the relatively unobstructive and emotive voice, what you have is the sound of NYC circa '77 pushed through the ramshackle indie filter.

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78

Almost Cool

[Ounsworth's] weird quirks do grow on you, especially because the music backing him is so solid most of the time.

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76

ShakingThrough.net

A whatever-sticks debut with meritorious replay value.

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70

PopMatters

While all of this is promising, and illustrates that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah likely has a very bright career ahead of them, they're only just getting started.

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70

Uncut

It's the vocals that will seal this deal for you--or break it. [Feb 2006, p.79]

70

All Music Guide

Poppy, '80s-tinged, and hooky as hell, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's debut certainly makes for pleasant listening.

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70

New Musical Express

A veritable swoon of a record. [7 Jan 2006, p.28]

60

The Guardian

Sadly, [Ounsworth's] lyrics are a letdown.... When the tunes are this good, it certainly feels like a wasted opportunity.

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60

Drowned In Sound

All the essential elements of greatness are here in some small form or other, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s time is not now.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 334 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Pat K. gave it a10:
Peter W You have no heart or soul... his voice is perfect for this music/album. This CD is AMAZING.

Luc M. gave it a5:
2 giant tunes, but the rest is really boring.

H C gave it a10:
CYHSY is an immaculate album.

Wilson A. gave it a10:
There are only 3 or 4 albums that I can honestly say don't have a single bad song. This is one of them

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
I personally don't understand a lot of the negativity on the album. Maybe I'm crazy, but I didn't mind Alex Ounsworth's voice at all. It was different, but not necessarily bad. And the songs were really good - at turns catchy and melodic, and frequently at the same time. The one-two punch of the woozy, foot-tapping chorus in "Is This Love?" and the upbeat optimism of "Heavy Metal" is one of my favorite moments on any album.

peter w gave it a3:
great music but cursed by the familiar indie music problem - an appauling singer. i dont usually mind if soemone cant sing but this guy seems to want to rub your nose in it until you tear to CD in half. if they could get a singer less influenced by, i dunno, that pretentious twat from pere ubu, they could be on a winner. as it stands id give it 8 for d music and zero for d vocals.

Mike gave it a10:
I wonder how many of these downvoters are guys with their own bands, upset that they didn't suddenly explode with popularity like CYHSH did. Anyways, the album: pretty good. The whole band is pretty involved. The vocals are guaranteed to turn off a lot of people, and the lyrics are unpredictable, but everything about them really does funnel into their name. Seriously, try clapping and stomping along to track 1. They're a fun band, and that's what makes them so great.

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