Straight outta Brooklyn: CYHSY vs. The Double

In 2005, the year of the podcast, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was tipped as the buzz band for the tech-set. There are problems with this take, not the least of which is that it was their self-titled, self-pressed, no-label CD that put CYHSY on everybody’s lips. In other words, it was a disc, a real thing in time and space, that led to their breakout, and not a cyberspace effort – although, as detailed by NPR (listening link), the blogosphere helped push them over the edge. Not to bite the proverbial hand that feeds me, but CYHSA is pretty much the exact sort of slightly overwrought indie pop that you’d expect to turn up on public radio.

Nonetheless, they have attracted massive ink from the Pitchfork Nation, and the band's David Byrne-marries-Johnny Marr hybrid reportedly captured David Bowie’s interest (although I suspect it’s the fact that they mention him in “Over and Over Again” that perked up Mr. Bowie). There’s some curious stuff going on with CYHSY, but to avoid sounding like the hordes of fanboys and girls, I’ll leave it to others to describe.

Here's an mp3 for their tune "Tidal Wave." Click it, and submit your own description in the comments. But before we quit, let me share with you an insider tip:

Pay attention to Brooklyn-based The Double, which snarls and rocks and tumbles like New York's answer to My Morning Jacket, one of my faves from the past 12 months. In the place of the Jacket’s groovy Southern stomp, the Double behind leading bassist/singer David Greenhill picks up where downtown kings like Sonic Youth and Television left off. The songs on the band’s Matador debut Loose in the Air soar like Icarus, come crashing down, and rise again like Lazarus. It’s scary and fun, but not exactly music for the masses.

It is, however, new and different, and that’s what I’m looking for these days. Here's a little video delight for the intrigued: "Idiocy" (directed by Matt Goldman; photo credit Wesley Law).

During SXSW, The Double plays Club de Ville on Thurday, March 16, at midnight. Later on that same night, I think, CYHSY plays at Eternal on Sixth Street at 1 am; but they've got lots of appearances.

For those still desiring more of my musical inkspots, click here.