Is there a more tired story in indie rock than the saga of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? Their moniker “indie’s first buzzband” has worn thin from use in every context where the band is discussed (including this one). Here’s an abridged version: In the archaic age of 2004, before the time of Myspace or Bandcamp, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah self-released their eponymous first album and won the support of music blogs — thus, the indie pop fivesome was reborn as a critical darling.
The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah story is so pitch-perfect that everything they’ve produced after their beloved first album has failed to captivate the same level of attention from both the press and public. Their narrative has followed them around like a stray dog, nipping at their heels and stealing the spotlight away from their modestly reviewed second album, “Some Loud Thunder.” After four years spent away from recording, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah played the 9:30 club on Saturday in support of their third album, “Hysterical.”
The prevailing questions in the crowd before CYHSY came on were whether the indie rock fivesome would play the music from their beloved debut album or try and introduce their new material. The audience had a median age resting around 30, and it was clear that there weren’t any new fans in the audience. The crowd had come to see old CYHSY, and as the band walked onstage to the plinking pianos of “Sunshine and Clouds and Everything Proud,” they set the tone for the night, letting the crowd know that the night would be stocked with old material.
And stocked it was, as the band followed the single with the crowd-pleaser “Over and Over Again.” The show, from the first song, was heavy on the material from the first album, and CYHSY were incredibly receptive of the crowd’s expectations of a throwback-heavy set. The synth-packed tracks off their third album translated well live, but the audience’s energy lagged when the band transitioned into their midtempo, harmonica-heavy material.
The band’s shift in mood was palpable depending on whether they were playing old or new material. Lead singer Alec Ounsworth introduced a new song with the throwaway disclaimer, “Here’s something new, think of it what you will,” and CYHSY played their newer material like they had something to prove to the crowd. They seemed to be having a ball when they played “Home on Ice,” “Details of the War” and other first-album staples, dancing around and grinning as the audience cheered them on.
The most distinctive aspect of the band’s sound was Ounsworth’s reedy and David Byrne-esque voice, which noticeably developed from his more yelpy vocals on the band’s debut to a smoother, more controlled timbre. CYHSY were professionals on the stage, eschewing long jam-out sessions and extended choruses for short songs and swift transitions.
Several dedicated fans danced throughout the whole set, but the crowd didn’t get moving until the second half of the night, with second album hit “Satan Said Dance” propelling the crowd into movement, which turned into an ecstatic frenzy as CYHSY closed the set with a trio of the first album’s most beloved hits: “Is This Love?”, “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” and “Upon this Tidal Wave of Young Blood.” With those three songs, the crowd was hooked, as fans pogoed with mirth and shouted the lyrics along with Ounsworth.
While it remains to be seen whether CYHSY will ever top the achievement that was their debut album, they proved at the 9:30 club that they could win over a crowd with ease, even if they had to focus almost exclusively on their earliest songs to do so.
mmcdermott@theeagleonline.com
