Clap Along

These days, East Coast indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have appeared everywhere from The Late Show with David Letterman to tons of glossy music magazines while trying to become the next big act to take over rock music. It's a success story worth mentioning, as the band managed to climb the indie ranks independently, unlike most of their contemporaries. Based out of Brooklyn and Philadelphia, the group got its start by recording, performing, distributing, and promoting its own music without a record label or publicist, and somehow it worked out in the band's favor. A few live shows were all it took for the indie bloggers to start championing the five-man band, and fame has attached itself to the group ever since. Not a bad accomplishment, considering CYHSY has been around for only three years. Sonically, hearing the careening vocals of lead singer Alec Ounsworth over the band's compositions is an experience in itself. At times, he sings with such a frantic desperation that it seems he'll perish if the words don't fall from his lips fast enough. There's also lofty guitar and keyboard work in their live sets; couple that with the stellar drumming of Sean Greenhalgh and it's clear that CYHSY has an intense relationship with sound that's not to be missed.