Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Hysterical

Having leapt to the top of NYC’s heavily stacked indie canon with their eponymous 2005 debut, Brooklyn’s CYHSY gained a fervent following with their meld of off-kilter melodies and arty-inflections. This was before sophomore release Some Loud Thunder brought about an opinion-splitting reinvention which found the band knee-deep in experimental territory.

In a stark retreat from their envelope-pushing past release, Hysterical finds the quintet wholly embracing their pop persona. Opener Same Mistake finds the Americans rummaging around in The Killers closet with tepid results, whilst the frantic stramash of its title track is dominated by Alec Ounsworth’s divisive vocals, ramping up to a fevered, nascent whine. But the disappointment abruptly ends there, with the ship-steadying Misspent Youth’s hazy synths and soporific base-line, and the woozy, proggy comedown of Siesta (For Snake)’s bringing a masterfully mellow flavour to proceedings. Elsewhere, the undeniably fun Idiot and Into Your Alien Arms prove that, though CYHSY might polarise their fanbase all over again, they’re sure to win a few new hearts. [Paul Neeson]