Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has announced the upcoming release of its third album titled Hysterical. The band’s first album in four years is due in stores September 20th in the U.S. and September 12th in the UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia.
The band plans to celebrate its release of Hysterical with a series of live appearances, including festival performances at End of the Road Festival 2011 at the Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset, UK, on September 2nd – 4th, The Berlin Festival in Berlin, Germany on September 9th – 10th, as well as San Francisco’s Outside LandsMusic & Arts Festival on August 12th – 14th; Los Angeles’ Sunset Junction Street Fair on August 27th – 28th. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has also slated a number of European headline dates, with September stops set for Sheffield, Brighton, London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, and Cologne with more shows in the US and abroad to be announced soon.
For two sold-out nights, Londoners The xx proved that a minimalist approach can work, when it’s done well.
Having just arrived on the scene in 2009, The xx have earned a great deal of buzz and, judging by the crowd response, a sizable faction of ardent fans. Appearing shy, unassuming and a bit goth in their solid black attire, Oliver Sim on vocals and bass, Romy Madley Croft on vocals and guitar and Jamie Smith on percussion played to a packed house at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall.
To start the show, I was excited to see Phantogram, a New York duo that I have been hearing so much about lately. I had heard about comparisons to Portishead, influences from Serge Gainsbourg and descriptions of their energetic live show. Based upon the crowd response, I don’t think I am alone in my assertion that the performance was a disappointment. The band’s point of reference seems good but there was simply no cohesion and each track seemed sloppier than the one before. There was no trace of an energetic live show and their lighting, which consisted of little more than the incessant, annoying flash of strobes, certainly didn’t help things.
The xx, on the other hand, conveyed exactly the opposite effect. Stacking detached, hazy vocals and thumping bass parts along with “live” drum machine beats, each sound seemed as it were specifically selected to enhance the vibe. Sounding like something thatRobert Smith,Ian Curtis and Peter Hook might have cooked up in long-forgotten shed during the wee hours of night, The xx delivered an hour-long set consisting of most of the songs from their eponymous 2009 album. From the syncopated, overlapping lyrics of “Crystalised” to the half-awake “Islands” and “Shelter” the band gave the crowd a peek into their natural, more-mature-than-it-should-be style. The set continued with “VCR,” the R&B influenced “Basic Space” before closing with an energetic version of “Infinity.”
The show felt very intimate, as if the crowd was voyeuristically peeking into their dilapidated practice space while the band played simply for their own late-night enjoyment. That’s really what is so striking about The xx and their music: it’s seductive and tense there’s nothing pretentious about it. You’re left feeling fortunate that you’ve experienced it unfolding before you, as if it could vanish in an instant. Showing the band’s great mastery of restraint, all of the parts have an organic space between them, letting the tracks breathe and evolve in a very satisfying way.
It’s certainly impressive to see such a young band have such a brilliantly realized sound. Making unique noise from pedestrian instruments, these newcomers just might be on to something.
The Festival celebrates the four pillars of Bay Area culture – music, food, wine and technology — there is no other festival that honors its home city to such an extent, making Outside Lands one of the most unique and enjoyable events in the country.
The artist lineup for the festival will be announced on June 1. A limited quantity of lower-priced Eager Beaver tickets will go on sale on May 7 at 10am PST.
The first day of the second annual Outside LandsMusic and Arts Festival held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park was filled with all of the ingredients you would expect at such a mammoth, eco-conscious festival. Expressions of art in many forms, lots foodie-centric vendors and throngs of music-adoring fans packed the event for three days of music, activism and celebration in a picture-perfect setting.
West Indian Girl
One of the early highlights was the set by West Indian Girl with guest vocalist Miranda Lee Richards. WIG delivered a psychedelic set of dreamy pop to an appreciative SF crowd.
Built To Spill
Often mentioned and praised by other bands throughout the day was the swirling, guitar-driven performance by Built to Spill.
Loop!Station
A San Francisco favorite, Loop!Station played three days in “The Barbary,” a magnificent “venue” brought in from Belgium. The effect of Robin Coomer’s soaring vocals, set atop layered samples and powerful cello from Sam Bass is absolutely mesmerizing.
The Dodos
Displaying their unconventional techniques for the hometown crowd, San Francsico’s The Dodos gained some much-deserved exposure with their opening-day performance.
Silversun Pickups
Often compared to Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups have built out their own sonic wall of sound. Delivering the most powerful set of the festival, Silversun Pickups brought their familiar “Lazy Eye” and “Swoon” in all of their fuzz-out, screamed-out glory.
The National
The performance by Brooklyn-based The National was filled with well-crafted gems of surprisingly interesting indie pop. A band familiar to San Franciscans from their song “Fake Empire” which was used in the Obama campaign, The National had the crowd won over before they hit the stage.
Incubus
Struggling with some vocal issues, Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd did his best to power through the hit-laden set. The fans were more than happy to fill in the gaps while Boyd nursed his pipes with a Cotes du Rhone.
Tom Jones
In an odd Vegas-meets-the-Bay moment, Tom Jones brought his endearing sing-along show to Golden Gate Park. I wasn’t sure if “It’s Not Unusual” or “She’s a Lady” would resonate with the hipster, boomer and ubiquitous ironic t-shirt-clad festival crowd. Sure enough, Sir Tom had everyone, young and old, dancing and singing right along.
Thievery Corporation
Even exceeding my expectations as a long-time devotee of Thievery Corporation, Rob Garza andEric Hilton led fans through an amazing spectacle during their performance on Friday night. The opening minutes of the show featured no less than three lead vocalists, a cross-leggedRob Myers on sitar and were followed by one of the most stunning performances of the entire festival. Pearl who?
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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has announced the upcoming release of its third album titled Hysterical. The band’s first album in four years is due in stores September 20th in the U.S. and September 12th in the UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia.
