Hysterical
Clap
Your Hands Say Yeah
It’s a tremendous
feeling when a band or artist you’ve stood behind for years truly surprises
you. Throughout a given year, the average committed music-listener will
anticipate five to ten releases from bands or artists that might crack their
desert-island lists; I’m talking about the musicians you buy without having
heard a lick of their new album – nay, the musicians you buy because you’ve
refused yourself the opportunity to sample anything in advance.
From my pocket of
personal favourite bands, 2011 revealed a few eagerly anticipated “deaf
purchases”: Wilco, Dog Day, Ryan Adams, Matthew Good – artists I’ve followed
since I was, by all accounts, a different human being. None of these artists
landed on SCQ’s list, despite their name-power attempting to soften the bias in
me. Among the top tier bands that did make 2011’s year-end grade is Clap Your
Hands Say Yeah, whose Hysterical I awaited with fingers crossed. It wasn’t a
fear of repeating Some Loud Thunder that concerned me – I, for one, thought that
sophomore made the band’s catalog more interesting – it was a fear that the
critical disappointment from that release might’ve driven CYHSY to be something
they aren’t. Although the synth-y gloss could be acting as a defense mechanism,
Hysterical presents that same band everyone loved in 2005 firing on all
cylinders.
1 comment:
It's really hard to get over hearing an average or bad album from an artist that you buy out of dedication and anticipation. It's truly gratifying when the band can continue to surprise you and become excited.
Post a Comment