Best album of the year. Don't believe those who are turned off by all the buzz around these guys. You don't need pitchfork to know that this album is wonderful.

Based on the user reviews this seems to be a "love it or hate it" album. But after repeated listens I've got to wonder how many of the bad reviews are more a product of the current "indie backlash" trend than any qualms with the music itself. After you get past the wretched first track, there isn't a single weak spot on the album. Frankly, this type of consistency is astounding from a debut LP. If you like good music and you can adapt to a "unique" vocalist then you will probably end up loving this CD. CYHSY's sound is akin to what you'd get if you threw the Talking Heads, Radiohead and Modest Mouse into a blender with an E pill. The best thing about it is that despite being instantaneously listenable/catchy/accessible, it still actually grows on you.… Expand

This album is amazing. So happy and full of emotion. It sounds like everyone and you hear so many influences, yet, it sounds so original and fresh.

Do I even need to say why?

This is wholly solid indie rock, combining the influences of many, leaving new listeners with something about as original as can be found in a world of copy cats.

Violent Femmes cover band? That's a pretty lazy comparison. Vocally they may have SOME similarities, lyrically, musically, emotionally, they have absolutely nothing in common with the Femmes. Believe it or not, we owe alot to that "pretentious online music mag." Without them, there are alot of incredible bands that would go unnoticed. (Arcade Fire, broken social scene are two that immediately come to mind).… Expand

upon first listen, i was unimpressed. after 2 to 3 listens i came around and i am now addicted to this record, definitely along with the national one of the best of the year. if you do not like this album, you'd probably appreciate the new weezer or another crap U2 or coldplay record.

much needed wake up call to all those sleeping rock giants!

New York bands come, New York bands go, some deserve more than they got, some are just pretty and consequently are launched as NME coverkids. But this lot, oh my! Exciting stuff, cant wait to hear what comes of them-lets hope they arent lost within the myriad of New York scenesters that never quite are...

Wonderful. Took a while for me to warm up to it, but it's really a great record. Don't wait--act now!

This is an incredibly solid CD, especially for a band's first release. The middle of this album is packed solid, with such songs as "Details of the War" and "Heavy Metal" packing the most punch. Although it is impossible to understand what the hell this guys is singing, it really matters little in the end. The raw emotion, the feeling that this band cares about its music, not about popularity, run crisply through my earphones.… Expand

All song are great! (well... except #1 :P).

In my humble opinion, the best album I've heard in years.

It took me almost a year to get into it, but now I'm hooked.

A sweet, cathartic and life affirming album.

i initially thought the singer would turn me off to the album however, all of it together, it ends up being quite beautiful.

pretty cool how they sold the copies themselves through word of mouth. this album gets more intriguing with each listen

This album knocks it out of the park. It is impossible to overhype it. I've had it for a month now and I still can't go three days without listening to it.

By far the best song heard all year, The skin of my yellow country teeth, simply awesome

I love this band. Such a fresh, new sound, makes you want to get up and groove!

i listen againandagainandagainandagain

It´s f**in´ great. CYHSY show us that good music don´t need a famous label or a big marketing. Good music goes all around the world for itself.

There is a lot of Byrne to the vocals, which take a bit of getting used to, but overall an excellent album, with a great rhythm section.

rubbish!!!

Amazing.

Easily the best album of the year so far.

This album is actaully worth all the hype. The guy whos complaining about his voice should stick to listening to the killers.

clap your hands!!! to this band!!!

Arcade Fire is the best album of 2004 ,this year the most beautiful album is Clap Your hands say yeah!

An amazing and refreshing album. Obviously the vocals will divide people up and make it a strongly love/hate album, but there are lots of great singers who suffer that (yorke, corgan, bjork)

what i needed

CYHSY have got it. To all of the reviewers who ripped this one, you are welcome to your opinion, however sick & wrong it may be. Great CD.

one of the most fun and unique records out this year. some elements of talking heads but a great combo of smiths like melodies, new orderish bass and cure-esque keyboards. Skin of my yellow country teeth is my fav trak.. stays in your head so hook laden with great souds from indie producer Adam Lasus

classic indie rock, a must listen.

Bloody brilliant album, everyone should own it.

A completely upbeat off-center release. The singer doesn't have the best voice but is a fantastic vocalist. The music hooked me instantly and hasn't let me go since. I hear so many influences wrapped into a nice neatly wrapped package. Namely Joy division, Velvet Underground, Talking Heads and Arcade Fire. All bands I love.

it's 522 am but i'm up, staring at my computer screen. poorly articluting random ideas and listening to them because something in their sound resonates with something i'm trying to get in touch with. thanks guys

is the best

They sound alot like wolf parade, but that doesn't make them any less amazing.

Thumb up.

very good. One of the best bands of the century

You get used the initially abrasive vocals, and the melodies hook you. It is a very good cd.

The best, most passionate, and most refreshing record in years.

MAKE SURE that you listen to the cd more than once before forming an opinion. It just grows on you so much. After the third time listening, I had made up my mind that this was pone of the greatest and different indie rock bands of our time. The band trie somthing different than most boring popular music out there and I love em for it. The singer really puts it all together. So anyway, listen to it again!… Expand

This album is kicka$$ buy it now

This is a great first album. Reminds me of R.E.M. first albums (Chronic Town and Murmur). The bass line is always lound and melodic and Ounsworth doesn't pretend he can sing. The tunes are really good too, especially The Skins of my Yellow Country Teeth and Heavy Metal. It really sound fresh.

This album is single handedly revolutionizing the way people think about indie bands!

It will sound alot like Talking Heads or Violent Femmes on your first listen. Stick with it because it will grow on you. I won't say they are a great band until I hear a follow up album. Too many bands these days burn out after one album.

Checking pitchfork, as I'm prone to do, I came across the description of this singer as the lead singe of Interpol warbling through Jeff Mangum's throat. After th initial burst of indignation at Neutral Milk Hotel being dragged into another review of a band they (most likely) had nothing in common with, I started to hunt for the album. Ifinally got it, put it to play in the background as I started my homework. I was floored. I would be going to class emptyhanded, it seemed. The first song immediately lets you know what's going on. You are, in fact, front row at a circus. It's the kind of opening track that's so weird you just know whatever follows wil be good, quirky enough that the simplicity and lack of real musical innovation seem completyely irrelevant. It invites you to fall in love, or at least sink into deep relaxation as the gypsies steal your wallet. After this the rest of the album gleefully floats by, fulfilling all the promises he first song made. Cryptic lyrics, twangy guitars, slow melodies, driving beats, child stars. The music becomes everything they want it to be as it seemlessly blends more influences than they may even know they had (Talking Heads, David Bowie, and Modest Mouse, just to name a few). Of course, the critics are right. Lead singer Ounsworth can't sing at all, at the lyrics are gibberish, not even the good playful kind. luckily, the two cancel each other out. Rather than getting bogged down in lyrics they don't need, the musical backing blasts through and Ounsworth Warbles on top, happy to use his voice as oddly tuned accompaniment rather than a source of insightful lyrics. The stand outs are there. "Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)" throws in the synthesizer and reels in the vocals ever so slightly to show you the best song the Talking Heads never recorded. "The Skin of My Yellow Country teeth" gives a fuzzy rendition of arcade theme music to introduce the driving drums and plucky guitar of an exciting western rock single. "Upon This Tidal wave of Young Blood" starts with some unassuming accoustic guitarthat leave you unprepared for the frantic album finale that reminds you (intentionally?) of the Unicorns "Child Star", repeating one line with all the urgency he can muster until the album abruptly fades out. The first listen confused and surprised me, and the following replays entranced me. This is easily the best new album I've heard this year.… Expand

An amazing debut from an amazing band. See them live, it's worth it. They rock so much. You will absolutely be blown away.

unique (to me at least) band, with an incredible album from beginning to end. go to the website and download the mp3s-you don't wanna miss this one.

I thought at first that "Mocking Heads" might be a more approprate handle for this band, until I really started to listen to the disc. It's like crack music. So incredibly addictive. It may not be the most original LP to come out this year, but barring another Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or Funeral, you can bet they'll top out more than a few "Best of" lists this year.

Forget what the critics, backlashers, bloggers, and pundits say. Please just give this album a listen with no preconceived notions. It will make your life better.

Dont believe the hype or the backlash, but if you like catchy indie rock/pop, odds are you'll like this record...

just listen to the album for what it is, not for what i think about pitchfork - try to stop listening to this record

CYHSY is fantastic. At times derivitive and familiar but more often fresh and creative. I think this CD is excellent and would love to see them come to my town. MILWAUKEE,WI!!!

Best album I've heard in ages. The self-production adds to the songs' intimacy. Voice a bit like Jeff Magnum but poppier subject-matter and melodies flying everywhere. Buy the album and support a band doing it for themselves!

Great great great great album!!!!!!!!! Will be on my top 10 albums of this year!

Amazing music, but that wonderfully terrible voice really is the icing on the cake.

A really great album that, unfortunately, comes out at a time when many people are so eager to hate "the next big thing." People that just truly enjoy Indie Rock music will thoroughly appreciate this release.

Perfect pop, extremely fun to listen to

mind-bogglingly spectacular.

Wooow! Shines!

very good...only 1 song i'm not crazy about

Bought this album because of the buzz - not what I was expecting at all...and yet...every time I listen through and put something else in, I keep stopping mid-way through and putting this back in. Either they've found a way to administer nicotine aurally or else it's a really rewarding listen. Kind of Belle and Sebastian meets David Byrne meets the Danielson Famile meets Arcade Fire meets I don't know what else. Something solid.… Expand

Fascinating, entertaining, and catchy as hell. This group frolics perfectly amongst the current buzz bands of the indie world (ie. Firey Furnaces, Arcade Fire, Architechure in Helsinki) Theyre, cute, dancable, funny and occasionally rocking

This is solid. Too bad Joe B. didn't get the memo. If you can't enjoy this you can't enjoy music. Try listening to it instead of criticizing it and being just that much cooler than the next guy so you can look back and wrongly say "I never actually liked it, even when everyone else was falling over themselves loving it". The emotional gut wrenching feelings that come out of this music is what makes it, not the fact that so and so said it was "THE album to listen to this summer!" Give your head a shake-this is the one! Christ!… Expand

Fuck the backlash, this album is as great as they say it is.

Absolutely brilliant piece of work, I already can't wait to hear something new.

Sounds like if david Byrne sung lead for the Feelies or old new order. I love it

Awesome.

Phenomenal album. Best of the year, by far.

the comparisons to tHeads, ViolentFemmes, NMH, are all evident here. That is really not a bad thing either. This CD delivers a full-on dose of inspired indie gold. I keep enjoying it more with each and every listen.

All this album took for me was one listen and I was hooked. Best pop album in years. To me far superior to Arcade Fire, although really the two bands aren't comparable except cyhsy has all the buzz arcade fire had back in the fall

Very Impressive debut. It does have a very fresh sound. Forget about the hype and just listen to it. Enjoy!

i usually disagree with pitchfork ratings but i can't stop listening to this cd. The first listen was ok but it keeps getting better and better. I was getting really tired of the disco beat indie rock.

Simply amazing work, with obvious influences yet its own unique approach and tone. All it took was the first minute of "Yellow Country Teeth" and I was hooked. I wasn't disappointed by the rest of the album, in fact, it's growing on me. There's no filler, even though not every song is a "single".

An excellent debut. I can't stop listening to this album! It's the perfect blend of newcomer originality and experienced control. One of the best of the year!

To my opinion, this is one of the best lp released this year. This band sounds uniqe! I don't know any band who has significant similarities to "Clap Your Hands...". First, i was quite shocked by the singers brash and impulsive voice. But meanwhile i've got used to it. That's good.

This is easily one of the most fun albums of the year. Great car music. Great chill music. Great alone-time music. It's the most versatile album to come out in a long time. The production is fine. All the elements of greatness are there. I do have a feeling that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's best moments are ahead of them, but this is an exquisite album. It's refreshing and new. It has a contagious energy. It's like discovering The Bends for the first time. And that's about as great a compliment that one can give.… Expand

howcome no one makes music like this anymore? a breath o fresh air, i'm tired of all the over produced super treble guitar dance bands taking over the indie scene. a classic for sure, buy it!

Addictive pop hooks + wonderfully weird + kinetic energy = I can't stop listening

This album is incredibly good. CYHSY knows how to create good hooks that will stay in your head for hours after listening. Singer Alec Ounsworth's pubescent Thom Yorkish singing may irritate some listeners, but I personaly love it. This is the best album of 2005 so far.

This band has created something purely remarkable with their debut album. The most amazing thing is that every song on this hole album has its own secure strength. The spacial qualities of the music provide a mysteriously large backdrop which is then splattered with crisp and thick guitars which weave between one another, intertwined but never colliding. The omnipresent synth drones and wavering detuned oscilators pull the music in a direction reminiscent of the montreal sound yet at the same time set this music apart as unique and finely crafted imperfection. when it comes down to it, you must listen for yourself becuase all the odd and intensley raw components of the music will leave you stunned and deeply appreciative of this music.… Expand

If you approach this album looking for more than just highl quality indie music you may be a bit dissapointed. CYHSY puts forth a solid album; the band has definitely got their act together. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it's an excellent debut album that offers 12 quality tracks and without a single misfire.

Cannot stop listening. This certainly deserves the hype and took me only one listen to be hooked. Watch out for these guys.

The most exciting new album i've heard so far thid year

I love every song that they have on that cd!

the best albumi have heard for quite while

Surprise of the year 2005. Here's a classic from a to z.

brilliant sound, they deserve a record deal!

An incriminatingly great album. Why does everyone keep on harping on the fact that Ounsworth's voice isn't good? Yes, the man does not have a good voice, but at least he doesn't pretend that he does. The songs on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah don't particulary facilitate an angelic voice anyways. What Ounsworth's voice does have in spades is emotion. Even though the arrangements of the songs are brilliant and original in scope, it is his unique voice that lends itself to them that much more and makes them even more etherial than they were to begin with. Oh and to all the posters who are jumping on the "i-hate-critics-that-only-say-they-like-a-band-because-they-feel-obligated-to" bandwagon: critics, however off-base or conspicuous they may seem, are simply giving their opinion, not twisting it to fit some pretense latent nature. Most of the time they are, in fact, just flat-out wrong. Not just going along with what everyone else believes. Anyways, ClapYour Hands Say Yeah is a must buy (in my opinion) and ranks as my 2nd favorite album of '05.… Expand

It's so unique and the sound is so good, I can't really describe it. I was a little confused at first but this ranks as top five on my albums of 2005

stop thinking!! just feel it! that's it!!

Wonderful. Talking heads goes to the circus.

Love it!

something to be cherished .. a hallmark of independent music.

Top Beef. Just saw them at T in the park aswell and they did the buisness winning over even the most cynical of my friends.