Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Bloggin' about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah now is like showing up after halftime of a sporting event. A bit of old news now. Unless something bizarre happens, they will replace Arcade Fire as the most blogged about band of the year.

And with good reason. It's a good album and an equally good story. First, the story. Five guys out of Brooklyn (although I think the lead singer lives in Philly) who started playing live last year in NYC. Word spread about them and they recorded an album by themsleves without signing to a label. They were mainly selling the album through their website and a handful of NYC stores. Then a few blogs picked up on it which spread the word further and now Pitchfork just dropped a glowing review on them. They sold out the first printing of the CD in less than a month and are now selling through their second printing. It's a fine example of how good music will sell without a massive promo budget and the impact that the internet can have music promotion.

Musically, their sound is retro-80's without being schlokey. If you liked New Order, Joy Division, the Bunnymen, et al then you'll do backflips for these guys.

They are also doing a national tour later this summer with The National. Here are the current tour dates (courtesy of Pitchfork):

07-20 Brooklyn, NY - Southpaw
07-27 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
08-10 New York, NY - Seaport Music Festival
08-17 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
09-07 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw +
09-08 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse + (see ya there!)
09-09 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom +
09-10 Philadelphia, PA - The Khyber +
09-16 Cambridge, MA - TT the Bear's +
09-18 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern +
09-23 Chicago, IL - Schuba's +
09-24 Minneapolia, MN - 400 Bar +
09-26 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive +
09-30 Portland, OR - Dante's +
10-01 Seattle, WA - Neumo's (KEXP Benefist Show) +
10-02 Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club +
10-05 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine +
10-06 Los Angeles, CA - Troubador +

+ indicates dates with The National

CYHSY - Details of the War (courtesy of music (for-robots))
CYHSY - In This Home on Ice
CYHSY - Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
CYHSY - Over and Over Again (Lost & Found)