Some Loud Thunder
Song titles like "Upon Encountering the Crippled Elephant" and "Satan Said Dance" might spell novelty act for some, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is simply a band with too many ideas. That's not a bad thing. Like the Brooklyn five-piece's self-titled debut, which became an enormous word of mouth hit with MP3 bloggers, this follow-up flies right from the start with its exuberant, oddly tuneful title track. It sets the tone for an album that is devotedly all over the place.   Frontman Alec Ounsworth still has a knack for sounding a bit like vintage David Byrne, with the goofy lyrical non-sequiturs to match. On elastic, eclectic tracks like "Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in The Air and Burning" and "Emily Jean Shock" his yelp works wonders, while just when you least expect it he brings a startling sense of gravity to the elegant "Goodbye to Mother and the Cove."--Aidin Vaziri