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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band active since the early 2000s in and out of
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. The band was founded as a collaboration between singer-songwriter Alec Ounsworth, Sean Greenhalgh, Robbie Guertin, Lee Sargent, and Tyler Sargent. Ounsworth now performs under the name, as a solo artist. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has released a total of six albums. Their self-titled debut album appeared in 2005 and their most recent, '' New Fragility'', in 2021.


History


Early work

Ounsworth first started writing songs during high school, and by 2003 was playing small gigs and pursuing various opportunities to get his music heard. Working in his basement studio in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, he would test new material on acoustic guitar at a weekly, two-song slot at a drag performance at local venue L'Etage. He then worked on the songs further in his basement, using a drum machine, bass, guitars, keyboards, and vocals.


2004–2006: ''Clap Your Hands Say Yeah''

He soon formed a band, consisting of drummer Sean Greenhalgh, keyboardist/guitarist Robbie Guertin, and brothers Lee (guitar/vocals) and Tyler (bass) Sargent, and would frequently commute to New York for rehearsal. The chosen name derives from some graffiti spotted in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, huge letters on a wall: "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah". Initially planned as an interim name for one show only, the moniker stuck and was never changed. The band started to record their material and initially planned a four-song EP. Yet granted extra studio time, more songs were written, and the EP expanded to become their self-titled debut album, '' Clap Your Hands Say Yeah''. Recorded between Providence, RI and Red Hook, Brooklyn, it was made for under $5000, Produced and Mixed with Adam Lasus, and was first released – completely independently – in 2005. With an independent DIY and direct-to-fan ethos, the band hand-delivered copies of their debut album to stores in New York and Philadelphia, where they also developed a fanbase including celebrities such as
David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...
and
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
, both of whom attended their shows. Early social media exposure on sites like
Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
, and favorable reviews in the then up-and-coming online media, particularly from music website
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
, helped Clap Your Hands Say Yeah build a constant following, a dedicated audience, and commercial success. "CYHSY is...deserving of the hype for what is – quite possibly – a nearly perfect album" (Billboard). US tours with The National, Dr. Dog, and Architecture In Helsinki followed, alongside appearances at festivals such as
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Osheaga,
Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
, Rock en Seine, and
Rock Werchter Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiva ...
, headline club shows, and performing at Irving Plaza on New Year's Eve 2005. Concerts, re-pressings, and further critical acclaim led to the album peaking at #26 on the Billboard 200. Subsequently, they licensed the album to Wichita Recordings for the rest of the world and continued to distribute directly in the US. Tracks from the album have been used for numerous TV shows, movies, and advertising, such as ''
Looking For Alaska ''Looking for Alaska'' is a 2005 Young adult literature, young adult novel by American author John Green. Based on his time at the private Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel in order to create meaningful young adult fiction. While he d ...
'' ("The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth"), Microsoft Xbox ("Sunshine and Clouds (And Everything Proud)") and Visa ("Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood").


2007–2009: ''Some Loud Thunder''

The touring and success of their debut album upended Ounsworth's expectations of what it would be like to be a professional musician, and the buzz and hype that engulfed the band coloured the material Ounsworth wrote for the follow-up, '' Some Loud Thunder''. The album was produced together with Dave Fridmann ( Mercury Rev,
The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...
) at his Tarbox Road studio. Ounsworth credits Fridmann with shifting the album away from being a repeat of the first, and challenging Ounsworth as a songwriter – he's on record as calling the whole experience "revelatory". Released on January 29, 2007, in the UK, and January 30th, 2007, in the United States, Some Loud Thunder garnered rave reviews: it was "enthusiastically raw" (BBC), while Pitchfork praised the band's "cracked, brassy vocals, shaggy rhythms, and luxuriant melodies". The record debuted at #47 on the Billboard 200, while "Satan Said Dance" was ranked the 95th best song of 2007 by ''Rolling Stone''. As with the first record, the band remained defiantly independent, refusing to sign deals that compromised their artistic vision or cashed in on their burgeoning reputation. Meanwhile, the band wrote music for the film '' The Great Buck Howard''. The song "Satan Said Dance" was used for numerous audio-video synchronization such as in Clark Gregg and
Chuck Palahniuk Charles Michael Palahniuk (;, , born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist of Ukrainian and French ancestry who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two ad ...
's '' Choke'', and Ryan Philippe's '' Catch Hell''.


2009–2010: Flashy Python and ''Mo Beauty''

In the wake of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
, Ounsworth headed to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
to write and record '' Mo Beauty'', released under his own name on ANTI- records. The album highlighted his affinity for the people of the city after the devastation, with producer
Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, in Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fl ...
(
Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...
) and Ounsworth hiring local greats like
George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...
(Meters, Allen Toussaint) and
Stanton Moore Stanton Moore (born July 9, 1972) is an American funk, jazz, and rock drummer from New Orleans. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also pursued a solo recording career (beginning with his 1998 debut '' All Kooked Out ...
(Galactic), Robert Walter, and many more. '' Paste'' praised how the album's "resounding use of strings, horns, piano and percussion appears and disappears at unexpected moments with beautifully unsettling results", while ''SPIN'' noted that "almost every tune on Mo Beauty equals or betters those on CYHSY's lauded 2005 debut". At the same time, Ounsworth produced '' Skin And Bones'', a record with a group of friends including Matt Barrick (The Walkmen), Scott McMicken and Toby Leaman of Dr. Dog and Quentin Stolzfus (Mazarin, Light Heat) amongst others, which was self-released on vinyl and online as Flashy Python. Described by Pitchfork as "a wheezy, dark song cycle-cum-inebriated stumble down South Street", the album was recorded in Ounsworth's barn and featured new songs alongside re-workings of Ounsworth's repertoire, partially coinciding with ''Mo Beauty''.


2011–2012: ''Hysterical''

In 2011, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah recorded ''Hysterical'' with producer
John Congleton John Congleton is a grammy winning American record producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician. In addition to his production work, Congleton has fronted the alternative rock band The Paper Chase, and writes music for a newer project entitl ...
(St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, Future Islands). Recorded in Hoboken and
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, and featuring improv pianist-composer
Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight, The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur, CSS and The Pretty Reckless. Early caree ...
(David Bowie, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins) on 'Adam's Plane', ''Hysterical'' garnered some of the best reviews of the band's career to date: "balances the exuberance of the band's first album with beauty and reflection", said NPR, while Consequence of Sound praised the use of "grandiose arrangements, gorgeous strings, and minimal synths." Another worldwide tour followed, including prominent slots at the UK's End Of The Road festival, Primavera Fauna in Chile, Harvest Festival Australia, 5punto5 Mexico, Electric Picnic Ireland, Personal Fest Argentina, CBGB Festival NY, The Super Happy Fun Time Fest Texas, Sunset Junction LA, Outside Lands SF, and SXSW, in Austin, Texas. Throughout this period, the band also appeared several times on primetime TV, invited by
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
,
Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
, and
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
among others, and remained true to their artistic vision and independence – the rise of MySpace and blogging, and the very early iterations of social media, helped with finding new, organic ways to connect to their audience. The album was released on September 12 in the UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia, and on September 20 in the United States. It charted in the US, France, and the UK.


2013–2016: ''Only Run''

After the release of the ''Little Moments'' EP on their Bandcamp page, on August 1, 2013, their "doing things differently" approach was once again employed for their fourth record, 2014's '' Only Run''. Ounsworth asked fans to submit "relationship stories" which were worked into some of the tracks, and he started doing house shows and more intimate tours. Recorded once again with David Fridmann in his remote cabin studio, ''Only Run'' included collaborations with
Kid Koala Eric Yick Keung San (born December 5, 1974), better known by his stage name Kid Koala, is a Canadian scratch DJ, music producer, theatre producer, film composer, multimedia-performer and visual artist. His career began as a scratch DJ in 1994. K ...
and The National's
Matt Berninger Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. ...
. While Ounsworth performed most of the instruments, the synth-laden album also features drummer Sean Greenhalgh and Zach Tenorio Miller on piano. Released on June 3, 2014, directly in the US, and the rest of the world via Xtra Mile, ''Only Run'' was critically praised. NPR noted "relentless pursuit of invention and reinvention", and ''Rolling Stone'' called its songs "big enough to fill a cathedral". ''Popmatters'' called it "one of the best independent rock records of 2014". The release tour included Sasquatch!, Riverfest, Culture Collide Festival, and extensive North America touring, but also presented CYHSY in a new format: performing solo house shows all over the US and abroad, organized by the Undertow Music Collective. In 2015, the band re-released their 2005 debut self-titled album on CD and vinyl for its 10th anniversary, accompanied by another North American tour.


2016–2019: ''The Tourist''

2017's ''The Tourist'' was produced by Ounsworth and Nick Krill, and mixed once again by Dave Fridmann, resulting in a "record which pretty much sounds like what a 2005 listener of Clap Your Hands would have expected them to be making ten years down the line" (Drowned in Sound). Ounsworth's ambiguous role (artist/band/group) crystallized even further with both the media and public, garnering praise such as "the holistic craftsmanship of Ounsworth's musicality is impressive" (Allmusic) and acknowledging "the sort of live-wire creativity that keeps music careers going longer than early skeptics could have imagined" (NPR). The album also features other members of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's touring band such as Matt Wong, Pat Berkery, and Tom Hughes. The record was released through a worldwide direct distribution deal, except for a license in Japan, once again underlining an uncompromising attitude towards the control of rights and skepticism towards traditional record labels. The release tour included festivals such as OFF Poland, Acoustic Lakeside Austria, NOS Alive Portugal, and Reeperbahn Festival Hamburg, alongside tours across the US and Canada, all over Europe, Japan, and Mexico. A tour featuring a setlist consisting of songs from 2007's '' Some Loud Thunder'' was undertaken on the occasion of a deluxe reprint for the record's 10th anniversary.


2020–2021: ''New Fragility''

February 21, 2021 marked the release of '' New Fragility'', the sixth record as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but Ounsworth's eighth overall; indeed, the record has the catalogue number CYHSY08 after a process of consolidation of the artist's complete, worldwide rights towards distribution and administration deals with
Secretly Distribution Secretly Group is a family of United States, American independent record labels based in Bloomington, Indiana. The group is made up of Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans. Secretly Canadian, the first of the labels, was formed in 1996 ...
and Domino Publishing. The album was preceded by a series of Bonus Tracks albums connected to each record, featuring rarities, B-sides, live tracks, demos and more, as well as the singles 'Thousand Oaks', 'Hesitating Nation', and acoustic ballad 'Where They Perform Miracles'. Several years of personal trauma including the break-up of Ounsworth's marriage, as well as the collective state of unease and anxiety at the state of the world, resulted in a record that is "touching and vulnerable" (American Songwriter) and "poetic, deeply personal" (Allmusic), and one praised by worldwide media like
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, '' Uncut'', ''
Le Soir ''Le Soir'' (, ) is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Émile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. Together with '' La Libre Belgique'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newsp ...
'', and ''
Les Inrocks ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prima ...
''. The album was mainly produced by Ounsworth with additional production by Will Johnson, recorded with engineer Britton Beisenherz at Ramble Creek Austin, and mixed by
John Agnello John Agnello is an American music producer and recording engineer who has worked with a multitude of recording artists. He has produced or co-produced dozens of albums. He also founded his own record label in the 2000s. Background In the 1980s, ...
at Kaleidoscope Studios over 2019. Alongside Ounsworth, New Fragility features Johnson on drums and Beisenherz on bass, as well as touring members bassist Todd Erk and drummer Jonas Oesterle, and a string quartet conducted and arranged by Brendan Cooney. In 2021 Ounsworth, as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, performed exclusive solo shows at Ars Cameralis Festival Katowicz and Ypsigrock Festival Sicily, where he also participated in the artist residency "The Sound of This Place", featuring electronic musicians Eva Geist and Camilla Sparksss, as well as visual artist and architect Gustav Düsing and light designer Julien Dufour. A digital Deluxe Version of ''New Fragility'' was released on March 11, 2022, which featured five additional acoustic versions of songs from the album. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah toured the US and Europe between March and July 2022.


Other projects and collaborations

Alongside artists such as Yeah Yeah Yeah's
Karen O Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978) is a South Korean-born American singer, musician, and songwriter. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Early life Karen Lee Orzolek was born in Seoul, So ...
and The National's
Matt Berninger Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. ...
, Ounsworth participated in the Parents' Choice award-winning album of Walter Martin (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater) We're All Young Together, promoting alternative music for children. Furthermore, Ounsworth contributed backing vocals to The Walkmen's '
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
' and participated in Los Dreamers, a project based on immigration stories of producers Raul Pacheco ( Ozomatli) and Shawn King (musician) ( Devotchka). Ounsworth also collaborated with German mainstream electronic pop artist
Claptone Claptone(born 30 September 1982) is a German DJ and producer who specializes in House music, house and tech house genres. He is recognizable by the Plague doctor costume, plague doctor-style golden masks, which serve to intrigue the public as w ...
on the tracks 'Ghost' and 'Animal' as a featured vocalist and co-writer.


Members

Current members * Alec Ounsworth – lead vocals, guitar, synthesizers, drum machine (2004–present) Current touring musicians * Todd Erk – bass, keyboards (2017–present) * Jonas Oesterle – drums (2017–present) * Julie Auxoux – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2022–present) Former members * Robbie Guertin – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (2004–2012) * Lee Sargent – guitar, backing vocals (2004–2012) * Tyler Sargent – bass (2004–2012) * Sean Greenhalgh – drums, percussion, synths (2004–2014) Former touring musicians * Nick Krill – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2013–2018) * Matt Wong – bass (2013–2017) * Pat Berkery – drums (2014–2017)


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums

*2007: '' Live at Lollapalooza 2007: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah'' (iTunes release)


EPs

*2006: ''Fall 2006 Tour EP'' (with
Architecture in Helsinki Architecture in Helsinki was an Australian indie pop band which consisted of Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, and Kellie Sutherland. Before its hiatus, the band released five studio albums: '' Fingers Crossed'' (2003), '' ...
and Takka Takka) *2013: ''Little Moments EP''


Singles


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from Philadelphia Musical groups from Brooklyn Indie rock musical groups from Pennsylvania Wichita Recordings artists 2004 establishments in Pennsylvania Sibling musical groups