Review: Some Loud Thunder

Some Loud Thunder
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Everyone knows the story of the original Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album. Five kids from Brooklyn and Philly come together to make their own album, release it without a record label, and go on to become one of the most popular indie acts of 2005. However, just like most indie acts that become popular, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was better suited to obscurity, to an existence without expectations. That's not to say that CLHSY's debut didn't deserve the attention it garnered; it most certainly did.

However, with that attention came astronomical expectations, that no band could ever hope of meeting. And of course, CLHSY tried to meet those expectations. The result is a hopelessly uneven album. Some Loud Thunder is home to some truly great songs, some middling ones, and a few atrocious ones. There's little continuity between songs, and the whole album feels like it's about to be torn apart by the distance between neighboring songs.

Listening to Some Loud Thunder is a great experience, but at the same time, an excruciating one. The good songs are just too good to be broken up by the bad ones, which seem to meander on forever, without reaching any real conclusion. They just end, and another track begins, completely unaffected by what preceded it. There's no cohesion, no reason to listen to the album as a whole.

The skip button is your friend here. Still, I can't hate this album; the band clearly loves, and more importantly, respects music. They fall victim to the sophomore curse, but only because of their debut success. Ironic, huh? I had high expectations for this album; we all did. Which is exactly why it falls flat on it's face.
Grade: B-



Songs To Download:

Emily Jean Stock

Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in the Air and Burning

Love Song No. 7.mp3

Satan Said Dance

Yankee Go Home