Hysterical

Despite bursting onto the scene six years ago and charming the charts and hearts of nations everywhere with their critically acclaimed self-released eponymous debut album, it’s fair to say that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have failed to set the world alight since that initial soaring salvo of anthemic indie rock. Indeed when their second offering Some Loud Thunder was dismissed as pretty limp and unlovable by critics and fans alike, it looked like the Bowie-endorsed Brooklyn natives might just throw in the towel, as band members went their separate ways to pursue side projects.

Well, they’re back. Comprising of 12 tracks, their third album, Hysterical, sees the five-piece return to the sounds and song structures that made us fall in love with them in the first place. The opening one-two salvo of ‘Same Mistake’ and ‘Hysterical’ sets the bar high, but it’s the power-pop of ‘Ketamine And Ecstasy’ and the swooping ‘In A Motel’, which renew our faith in the CYHSY project. While singer Alec Ounsworth’s Thom Yorke-like tortured wail can grate on occasion, for the most part this is a fine return to form. Yeah.