It'd be wrong to assume that just because you enjoyed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's instantly-likeable debut, you'll similarly relish the Brooklyn quintet's second offering. For starters, they're not so much just clapping their hands and saying yeah anymore, as frantically bashing saucepans with spoons and screaming illegibly; Some Loud Thunder forgoes - for the most part - the melodic indie-pop that infused their fab debut. Whether this is a conscious decision to move on and experiment, or down to producer Dave Fridmann's (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips) direction is up for debate, but either way, Alec Ounsworth and co. have consciously, and admirably, progressed. Oh, Ounsworth's vocals are still as kooky and intangible as they've always been; but the once-straightforward, uptempo jangle of yesteryear is now sheathed in a scratchy, badly-tuned-radio fuzz (as heard on the title track and Emily Jean Stock) - an interesting, if quickly-tiring production method. Thankfully, the thoughtful instrumentation, Ounsworth's nasal falsetto and a flurry of bittersweet backing vocals on Mama, Won't You Keep Those Castles in the Air and Burning? redeem proceedings, as does the pert, icy, 80s-style synth riff on Goodbye To the Mother and the Cover, and the lo-fi Mamas and Papas rattle on Arm and Hammer. Where your ears will really prick up, however, is at the opening bars of the incredible, dark, robotic-pop-gone-askew death-jive of Satan Said Dance, probably the best thing that this band will ever commit to record. It also perfectly encapsulates the diversity of Some Loud Thunder; it may not be as immediate as their debut, and it may not even sound as good to some - but if you're willing to persevere, it'll prove a worthy soundtrack for any hipster to clap their ears 'round.
