We're Safe and Sound

Friday night at the Granada Theater provided my fourth chance at seeing indie phenoms, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I first saw them live last year when they played in Dallas at the Gypsy Tea Room, and then caught them twice at SXSW 2006. The band caused a stir in the indie scene with their late 2005 self released eponymous debut. Set around lead singer Alec Ounsworth's warbly vocals (reminiscent of David Bryne), the band adds a lively mixture of keyboards, drums, and great hooks to provide an enjoyable, fun ride through their musical world.

Their set on Friday provided a fairly even mix of songs from their debut and second release, Some Loud Thunder which was released this past January. They started with the playful, carnival-esque song Clap Your Hands! which marked the first time I'd seen them play it live. From the start I noticed the improvement the band showed in stage presence and how well the instruments sounded. The constant touring over the past year definitely showed off the growing maturity in their playing.

Although most of the songs on their second release fail to reach the joyous or trippy highs of the debut, the release in no way should be considered a sophomore slump. CYHSY played several of the stronger tracks like Love Song No. 7 and Emily Jean Stock. The song Satan Said Dance has been in their live routine since I saw them last year, and sounded really solid this time. I was happy to hear In This Home on Ice and Is This Love? off their debut. The best part of the night was the surprise second encore which featured a strong performance of The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth. The down side of the show for me was a weakness in the vocals. Now Mr. Ounsworth does have a unique style, but in the past I've been able to understand and follow his lyrics when seeing them live. This was not the case for several of the songs on Friday. That being said, CYHSY is definitely a band I recommend seeing for a fun night of live music.