Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
East Coast outfit Clap Your Hands Say Yeah make artsy, finely crafted indie rock. The group emerged to online buzz in the mid-2000s with their eponymous debut before gaining wider attention with albums like 2007's Some Loud Thunder, 2014's Only Run, and 2017's The Tourist.
Centered on lead singer/songwriter Alec Ounsworth, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was formed in Massachusetts around 2004 and initially featured Ounsworth on vocals, guitars, and keyboards; Lee Sargent on guitars; Robbie Guertin on keyboards and guitars; Tyler Sargent on bass; and Sean Greenhalgh on drums. After the band moved to Brooklyn (with Ounsworth remaining in nearby Philadelphia), songwriting sessions began in earnest. The group's full-length debut album, 2005's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, initially gained traction with help from a wide network of bloggers and Internet supporters. There was so much online interest in the band that NPR even did a feature on the emerging phenomena of Internet band buzz, using CYHSY as the prime example. Rolling Stone championed the cause further by heralding the group as a "Hot New Band" later that year.
Following the release of their debut, Ounsworth dabbled with his side project, Flashy Python & the Body Snatchers, while Greenhalgh's Guns N' Roses tribute band Mr. Brownstone packed it up in June 2006. The rest of that year found CYHSY leaking out a few EPs before a second full-length record, Some Loud Thunder, hit shelves in 2007. The band continued to play shows and pursue other interests amid rumors that they had gone on hiatus, with Greenhalgh producing records for groups like Takka Takka while the Sargent brothers did some soundtrack work.
In 2011, the band quashed rumors they were splitting up by self-releasing their third album, Hysterical, and touring. Two members decided to leave CYHSY in 2012. Guertin went on to pursue other projects, while Sargent left to form a "presidential exploratory committee."
CYHSY released a digital-only EP in 2013, which was the first sign of their change in direction with the presence of synths and drum machines. The tracks "Only Run" and "Little Moments" from the EP were to again feature on their next album, 2014's Only Run, which also featured guest artist Matt Berninger of the National. Greenhalgh then parted ways with the band, leaving Ounsworth as the sole member. In 2017, the Ounsworth-helmed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah delivered the Dave Fridmann-mixed The Tourist. Following a tour, including live solo acoustic dates, Ounsworth returned with the band's sixth album, 2021's New Fragility.
© J. Scott McClintock /TiVo
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Discography
14 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 13 Sep 2005
Pitchfork: Best New Music16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hysterical
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 20 Sep 2011
Sélection Les Inrocks16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano & Voice (Piano & Voice)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 10 Jan 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
New Fragility
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 12 Feb 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Only Run
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 4 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Some Loud Thunder
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 30 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Tourist
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 15 Feb 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Fragility (Deluxe Edition)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 11 Mar 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Room At The Top
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 8 Apr 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Bonus Tracks)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 21 Aug 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Some Loud Thunder (Bonus Tracks)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 9 Sep 2007
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Tourist (Bonus Tracks)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 14 Feb 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hysterical (Bonus Tracks)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 8 Sep 2011
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Only Run (Bonus Tracks)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on 2 Jan 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo