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...

Lost At Sea

If there is a problem with Some Loud Thunder it is the album’s lack of consistency.

Read Full Review >

BBC collective

At their best, on Yankee Go Home and Five Easy Pieces, their sound becomes less indie rock than ecstatic chanting.

Read Full Review >

Playlouder

Building on the shaky, disjointed, but strangely beautiful foundations that they first laid twelve months ago with the release of their debut, 'Some Loud Thunder' is a gloriously shambolic second album from a band that continues to sound like no one else.

Read Full Review >

Dot Music

An entirely satisfying sophomore effort.

Read Full Review >

Delusions of Adequacy

An original and exquisite album full of playful and energetic indie-rock that, while retaining some of the same qualities as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, is also a step in a new direction that suits the band fine.

Read Full Review >

The Guardian

Whatever it lacks in straightforward pop tunes, this album makes up for in rich, multilayered weirdness.

Read Full Review >

Observer Music Monthly

The band... haven't leapt off in a new direction but have capitalised on the tension between Oundsworth's spiralling, just-about-to-fall-over vocals and the driving, zealous music that stops him from metaphorically sailing away into the ether.

Read Full Review >

NOW Magazine

Not every track is a winner, but fans of their brash debut will still find a lot to enjoy here.

Read Full Review >

Pitchfork

If Some Loud Thunder isn't as consistent as the debut, it's an adequate follow-up that contains a handful of fantastic songs, a handful of uneven ones, and a handful of duds.

Read Full Review >

Spin

This set of songs recaptures much of their original nonchalant magic. [Feb 2007, p.86]

All Music Guide

There's definitely an unfinished and tentative feel here.

Read Full Review >

Q Magazine

Though the results are less homemade-sounding than their debut, a mood of playful experimentation is evident throughout. [Feb 2007, p.99]

cokemachineglow

Some Loud Thunder is a mixed bag of spectacular material and hodge-podge studio doodles.

Read Full Review >

No Ripcord

Despite some missteps (sadly, a few egregious ones), Some Loud Thunder is successful in displaying the group’s breadth of talent and ideas.

Read Full Review >

Drowned In Sound

Some Loud Thunder is a partial success. When it shines, it shines brightly and showcases a skill at crafting - when they have the balls to carry their ideas through - insanely catchy left-of-centre quirk pop a la Talking Heads.

Read Full Review >

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Clearly the band and producer Dave Fridmann have a vision for Some Loud Thunder, so it's a shame their ambition only rarely translates into music that approaches the album's compelling predecessor.

Read Full Review >

Stylus Magazine

Perhaps it’s too easy to blame Fridmann for these new distractions, but I can’t imagine Ounsworth and the band leaping ahead this way without him. Here’s to hoping that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah move backward more lithely than they progress.

Read Full Review >

Austin Chronicle

This time around, no celebratory hand gestures are required.

Read Full Review >

Entertainment Weekly

The giddy art-school anthems of their last album are largely submerged in a cauldron of studio-induced sonic goo. [2 Feb 2007, p.123]

Los Angeles Times

Flaws aside, "Some Loud Thunder" is a highly original and weirdly accomplished work worth hearing.

Read Full Review >

Under The Radar

It isn't awful... However, neither does Thunder deliver the lightning strike that would effectively mute the onslaught of a backlash. [#16, p.90]

Uncut

A flawed but fascinating follow-up. [Feb 2007, p.85]

The New York Times

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah demands a new, irksome level of indulgence on "Some Loud Thunder." But it finds a new richness in the songs it doesn’t sabotage. [29 Jan 2007]

Hartford Courant

It's worth giving it a second (or third) listen.

Read Full Review >

Village Voice

[Fridmann's] atmospheric flourishes have always been heavy handed, but here they muddle tightly conceived pop tunes that would've sounded better scrappy.

Read Full Review >

Rolling Stone

Less energetic and more all-over-the-place, it's ramshackle rock full of drones and jangles that crest and hum, with Alec Ounsworth splashing his warbly David Byrne alto around like cheap paint.

Read Full Review >

Blender

Some Loud Thunder is certainly uncompromising--which isn't the same thing as "good," although it's got a handful of very good moments. [Mar 2007, p.131]

The Phoenix

The songs start running together till they’re not distinct tracks so much as guitars and bass and drums and yelpy indie vocals that happen to have been recorded at the same time.

Read Full Review >

Tiny Mix Tapes

Replacing the kitschy DIY aesthetic with intentional roughness and bloating each nook and cranny with some sort of sound, what’s emphasized is its production, not its songwriting.... At the same time, however, it’s the production that makes the album somewhat interesting.

Read Full Review >

Alternative Press

Some Loud Thunder isn't without its successes--but it is defined by its failures. [Feb 2007, p.114]

Urb

CYHSY seem to have set out to make their "important" sophomore record... which is only truly important if you believe that songs gain weight at the hand of bulbous studio wankage (they don't) and that unnecessarily inflated melodrama equals more fun (it doesn't). [Jan/Feb 2007, p.76]

Prefix Magazine

Ounsworth's impassioned delivery is gone throughout most of Some Loud Thunder, replaced by what can only be described as vague indifference.

Read Full Review >

Mojo

It's too mixed a bag of highlights and lowlights to be lovable. [Feb 2007, p.100]

musicOMH.com

This album is too much of a mess to be seen as a worthy follow-up to such a great debut.

Read Full Review >

PopMatters

The band’s weakness may well be that it has become comfortable in its awkward and uncomfortable sound.

Read Full Review >

New Musical Express

There's the odd good song... but these are rare moments from a band wallowing in coarse experimentalism. [20 Jan 2007, p.31]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 70 User Votes

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

Jason L gave it an8:
Definitely grows on you. Took me a while to get into, and I don't think it is going to get the same playtime as the first. But I still can't stop listening to this one, so thumbs up.

Nicholas T gave it an8:
Upon first listen, I was ready to laud this album as a vast disappointment. After a few listens, though, it began to really grow on me and even though I haven't been able to enjoy it nearly as much as their debut, I still find it to be a very great, and (regardless of what the critics are saying) very listenable album. The title track is one of the most genius and nirvana-inducing songs that I have heard all year. "Some Loud Thunder" while not as good as its masterful predeccessor is simply a progression of sorts and I can't wait for their next release.

Todd W gave it a5:
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's sophomore effort more than hints at a slump. These guys appear to have a creative monkey on their collective backs. Their first album was brilliant, despite the protestations of some of those on this blog. This offering almost begs one to stay the course. The title track is a f... you to those who can't hang for the rest of the songs. Unfortunately, the rest just aren't that good. This album seems tired and lacking in ideas at some points. No wonder. These guys have been on the proverbial road since inception. If you wait long enough, they'll be playing at a high school cafeteria near you. They appear to fallen into the same rut as Franz Ferdinand in that they never just take a break and let their music do the talking. Enough already, boys. Just put down your instruments and walk away...at least for a while. We'll still be here when you get back to where you once belonged. Remember the saying about absence.

John S gave it a5:
Let's be honest, there is no backlash. This isn't a sophomore slump. People loved the purity and underdog nature of the story of their success, which translated into an affection for the band that artificially inflated our perceptions of the objective quality of the music on the first album. But the songwriting was always subpar two-chord blandness, and the quirky voice was going to get old at some point. Anyone who believed this band ever had any promise or long-term potential is crazy.

Chris G gave it a9:
Evolution is part of the process here. When I first began to delve into this album, I was exasperated, bored and felt generally uneasy / dissapointed. Criminally underlooked and undervalued, these songs reward with repeated listens. I've been playing this non-stop since its release. Pros: - Varied, rich mixture of styles, tempos and arrangements - Dazzling collection of songs ("Goodbye to Mother and the Cove" / "Mama, Won't You..." / "Underwater..." / "Five Easy Pieces") outweigh the messy, unfocused ones ("Satan Said Dance" / "Arm & Hammer") - Ounsworth's unique vocal delivery. Annoying at first, captivating later - Not as "same sounding" as their first - Growing pains = good thing! -D. Fridmann is a producing genius Cons - A bit unfocused for some - Varied instrumentation may not be for everyone - Newcomers may not enjoy

Vincent H gave it a5:
Like the new Shins, this album will grow on you if you just give it a chance. Listen to it on at least 2 seperate occasions and you will see what I mean. Sorry, it's just one of those kinda records. By that I mean it is definitely "difficult", but it still has some appeal to it. The main problem with the album is not the production (which I personally like for its attempt to try something totally different...plus Dave Friedmann is a God) but as the Pitchfork review said, the songs just don't stand up under scrutiny. You can't blame bad production if the songs aren't there. You can see that their first album is already considered a modern-day classic and will be highly played and valued for many years. This will always be considered the divisive, difficult, and subpar sophomore album. There's no way around it...there are just not enough good songs on this thing. I would still recommend it to any fans of CHYSY or fans of the great Dave Friedmann.

Juan Pablo CH gave it a10:
am really fascinated with this record, it is without a doubt one of my favorite records of this year because 'Some Loud Thunder' shows a face different with so surprising sounds, for sample 'Satan Said it Dance' or 'Some Lud Thunder' It is a record completely different to the first one and it shows us to a band that continues toward before with strong steps without looking back.

Music

Upcoming &Recent Releases

Some Loud Thunder

Album Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
Recent Releases