Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Confront Big Questions on New Fragility
Frontman Alec Ounsworth wrestles with mixed feelings on latest LP
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah blew a lot of minds when they released a fully independent self-titled first album in 2005. They had no record label, no manager, no nothing, and at a time when even “indie” bands were signing to major labels, it seemed like Alec Ounsworth and Co. were doubling down on the DIY ethic of the ’80s underground. That’s not so rare nowadays: The digital revolution, or whatever it is, has made it easier than ever to put out music without the usual intermediaries.
Though Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was certainly on the leading edge of all that, Ounsworth has mixed feelings about his role, and a whole lot of other things, besides. They’re the basis for New Fragility, the band’s latest album, which includes songs reflecting on the buzz that overtook Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the effects it has had on Ounsworth’s life. New Fragility parses trauma, both his own and the more general effects of late capitalism and the ongoing collapse of American democracy.
If that sounds like heavy going, Ounsworth makes it worth the ride. The group is basically a one-man vehicle now, and his core collaborators here are ex-Centro-matic leader Will Johnson on drums and Britton Beisenherz on bass. Ounsworth is more thoughtful than polemical on songs with rich musical arrangements, including a string quartet that lends a mournful air to “Innocent Weight.” The default mood throughout is melancholy, but even when his anger shines through, Ounsworth couches it in pungent imagery that feels righteous and personal, rather than prescriptive. “We’ve become the world’s first millionaires,” he sings on opener “Hesitating Nation,” his voice breaking in that distinctive way of his. “You know, the ones who just don’t care.” The song is a bleak assessment of modern American culture, driven by an urgent beat that builds into a bold lead guitar line.