Ahh, the difficult second album. Very hard to get right sometimes, do you push your boundaries, do you play safe and just reproduce the first one? Especially hard if the first one made a splash with the fans and critics. It seems to me that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are the obvious band that people are hoping to see fail. Pitchfork loved their self released debut and by the time of their just released second album people are waiting to poke holes in it in this seemingly cynical age. Fair enough if you don't dig this band for your own reasons. But "Some Loud Thunder" is really impressing me and I think if you give it a chance you might be impressed too. Now I loved their eponymous debut, its blend of danceable grooves, indie guitar lines, cryptic lyrics and Alec Ounsworth's unique voice were things I cherished. Some people seem to have a problem with Mr Ounsworth's voice, not me, for me it is a significant factor in my liking this record. It has been well written about that uber producer Dave Fridmann took the controls for "Some Loud Thunder" and that could have been a major misstep. For the opening title track is buried underneath a wall of static that will unfortunately put a lot of people off. I have heard the original and it is an irresistable pop gem. Which is more the pity. Even the second track "Emily Jean Stock", a fine song, has some fuzz on it. But then the next song "Mama, Won't You Keep Those Castles In The Air & Burning?" lifts the record into important territory. I have no idea what Alec is singing about, but God i love this song, it is epic. Thereafter the record doesn't have any major flaws, except for the dirge like "Love Song No. 7", that it is one I'm not getting much out of. If you liked the debut for its sunny pop and danceable tunes then you might find "Some Loud Thunder" a bit of a slog, the only 'pop' song is really "Underwater (You & Me)". But the band has shown quite a deal of growth, "Goodbye To The Mother & The Cove" and "Yankee Go Home" are very impressive songs with great power and range. And the closer "Five Easy Pieces" is a nice way to finish with its gentle swaying mood. Plus the live staple "Satan Said Dance" is included and this song just kills live. So in summing up, despite the difficult opening, I believe the band has really tried to serve up something significant and on the whole delivers. I would give it a very solid 8 out of ten and I believe I will be playing this heavily in 2007.

Update: Pitchfork just gave it a respectable 7.2. The review is actually very well written and makes a lot of good points.
Buy at Insound.
MP3: Some Loud Thunder (live, as it could have sounded)
MP3: Underwater (You & Me)