I only bought this album about a year ago when I found it at Poundland, of all the places, of course by the cheap price of one pound. Listening to this music nowadays makes it very clear to me that this is something of a cult album already less than 15 years since its release. I'm sure future generations will discover this and appreciate it. At the same time, this is very badly played music and very genius music, since it sounds so unique.
The album starts with circus-style music box noises and announcements in the almost title-track Clap Your Hands! This is another indie album cliche, to start the album with the least commercial and strangest song. Perhaps it's no wonder that CYHSY has still not been signed by a record company. The first real song Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away reveals the true sound of the band. There are lots of authentically buzzing guitars and strange nasal singing, but the melodies under the noisy sounds are quite catchy. Over and Over Again (Lost and Found) sounds a lot more produced than the two first tracks. It's mainly carried by the bass, which gives this song a softer sound. Sunshine and Clouds (And Everything Proud) has some interesting toy instrument sounds. I have no idea what that instrument is, but it sounds brilliant and like it's been designed for kids. This song leads directly into a beautiful song Details of the War, in which the vocals are lower and as a result also softer. There's a nice rising intensity in this song. The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth is the most traditional indie rock song with pounding disco drumming and melodic bass lines. The melody is also excellently catchy and the intensity is growing throughout the song. Is This Love? is probably the most obvious hit song on the album. From the first intro notes, it's clear that there's something special about this song. The chorus is really something to sing to drunken at a party. Like the name suggests, Heavy Metal has some heavier guitars, but the song is still quite far from actually being heavy metal. There's a great upbeat feel to the song. Blue Turning Gray is a nice intermission folk piece in the midst of all that indie rock. it's nice to hear that the band can actually pick the acoustic guitar as well. In This Home On Ice is completely the opposite kind of song. It's like a stadium rock song played with very lo-fi sounds. Gimme Some Salt sounds like some of the craziest Blur songs on their self-titled album, or on 13. The album ends with nicely rolling rock song Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood. There are some excellent cheap synthesiser sounds in the song.
The music videos of the band are quite similar to the music itself. The video for Over and Over Again (Lost and Found) is set in one room that keeps revolving and a guy inside the room tries to paint the walls of the white room red, but the things in the room keep changing places and eventually the guy throws everything away from the room only to find the room readily painted red with all the things in their right places. I don't know if this is some kind of statement that actually when you stop trying, things naturally sort themselves out. The revolving of the room may make you quite queasy. Beware.
I'm still not claiming that I would listen to Clap your Hands Say Yeah that much, but I feel like over the years I've grown fond of their debut album. It's a great example of a band that didn't really care what others were doing and by doing so, they started kind of a trend in this kind of sound.
Listen to the album on Spotify.
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