The album as a self-contained unit of artistic expression holds a fascinating place in the musical landscape. For some, the rise in streaming culture has reduced its significance, with listeners able to jump from song to song, artist to artist, on a whim. Conversely, the resurgence of vinyl and the proliferation of tours featuring artists performing classic albums in their entirety has strengthened the concept of the album for many.
Some full-length records continue to resonate years — even decades — after their release. One of those albums is the self-titled debut by Philadelphia indie rock group Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
Generating a buzz via then-new ways of promotion (blogs, Myspace) and garnering overwhelmingly positive reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, the much-loved record turns 20 this year. To celebrate, founder-songwriter-singer-guitarist Alec Ounsworth and the touring members of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are touring nationally and internationally and playing the album in full. Atlanta is third on the itinerary, with the band performing at Terminal West on April 2.
Credit: Photo by Ian Shiver
Credit: Photo by Ian Shiver
“It’s a funny little look back upon somebody who I was 20 years ago,” said Ounsworth about the tour on a recent call from his Philadelphia home. “Thankfully, I’m kind of proud of the work that we did, proud enough to actually go out and do it again.”
Fiercely independent and now the only official band member, he continues to release Clap Your Hands Say Yeah music as he always has — without being signed to a record label, using distribution deals to get releases into stores. That approach has meant some listeners, young and old alike, are still discovering the first album.
“We got the word out as best we could,” Ounsworth said. “I would say that, compared to other bands who had a team behind them or a machine behind them, this has been an organic reach, and so people still uncover it years later as if it were new. Nobody’s forcing it upon them, and I’m kind of proud of that aspect of it.”
The album has all of the hallmarks that would come to typify the group’s sound, starting with Ounsworth’s idiosyncratic, heartfelt vocal twang. Add to it melodic guitar riffs, keyboard warbles and, especially at the outset with the carnival welcome of “Clap Your Hands!,” a sense of wonder, and you have Clap Your Hands Say Yeah music.
While the song “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” and “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood” have always gotten the lion’s share of attention, the shimmering, shoegaze-influenced “In This Home on Ice” best symbolizes the initial fragility but ultimate triumph of the debut album. It was the first song recorded.
Then-drummer Sean Greenhalgh, whose background was playing guitar and writing songs rather than sitting behind the kit, took a while to nail his part. “He was an incredible asset but not full of self-confidence because he was relatively new to the drums,” Ounsworth said. The band recorded the track live (with vocals added later), and after a number of takes, frustration set in. “I remember this because we nearly stopped and thought, ‘Uh, maybe we just go to graduate school or something’ at the end of this song. I swear, it was kind of a defeating moment.”
Luckily, though, the band saw it through, recorded the rest of the album, and “In This Home on Ice” continues to shine. Just before he plays it live these days, Ounsworth thinks about “how much of a forceful ball of energy that song is to me. It comes together structurally and lyrically, so for that I’m excited to play it.”
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has released six studio albums (with Ounsworth adding one solo album in 2009), the most recent being 2021’s emotionally fraught “New Fragility.” In the four years since, songs have continued to pour out of the musician.
“I always have way more material than I know what to do with,” he said, noting he has the equivalent of four albums already recorded. “I have to impose my own deadlines to a large degree on some of this stuff,” Ounsworth added, highlighting the need either to find the right combination of songs or to move on to newer material.
“I’m in a period of accumulation at the moment, and I need to just start to focus. For me it depends on my mental state, which is why I don’t just release albums on a whim.”
Another factor in the time between releases is the related administrative demands. While a few details about handling his own distribution have gotten easier since the debut record’s release (“I can reply to 50 emails a day”), most have not. “There just seems to be so much more to do in terms of keeping up with all the ins and outs of essentially running a business,” he noted. “I read a lot of legal documents and distribution agreements.”
Ahead of his next release, whatever that is and whenever the moment’s right, Ounsworth is thrilled to be performing the first Clap Your Hands Say record and select songs from other albums to fans all over the world this year. Japan, Mexico and Australia are favorite destinations on this tour, as are big U.S. cities, including this one (“I really do like Atlanta,” he said).
Looking back, Ounsworth appreciates that releasing his band’s self-titled debut in 2005 was timely. “We were lucky to hit at a time when we were able to really latch on,” he said. “People who believe in Clap Your Hands really believe in it, and for that I’m forever grateful.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
April 2 at Terminal West. With special guest Babehoven. Doors open at 7 p.m., show (all ages) at 8 p.m. $27-$30. 887 W. Marietta St. NW, Atlanta. terminalwestatl.com.
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