Some Loud Thunder

Does anyone else find the similarities between Vampire Weekend and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah strangely familiar?

Both were formed at elite colleges, everyone in the bands look like they were part of the hipster crowds at elite colleges. (I don't mean that as a dig; some would say the same about me.) More importantly, they went from "Who's that?" to playing Pianos and the like to playing the Bowery Ballroom and the like to the Internet buzz building to the inevitable "Best New Music" designation on Pitchfork to reviews in the Times in about four months -- all without being signed to a label.

Now, some would say of this, Isn't the 21st century and the Internet a wonderful thing? I differ. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's self-titled debut is excellent and, while perhaps not totally original, so fun. When lead singer Alec Ounsworth gets to the "Far, far away from West Virginia / I will try on New York City" lyric in "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth," I usually drive with my knees so I can fully emote in the rearview mirror. (Don't tell the police.)

But it seems to me Clap Your Hands has gotten chewed up in the hype machine, whose cycles now only move exponentially faster because of the Internet. The band's follow-up, "Some Loud Thunder," did not receive much attention upon its release about a year ago (I haven't listened to it, nor the Vampire Weekend debut, for that matter), and they don't seem to be playing venues any larger than the ones they were playing two years ago. This should be a talented, growth band, but too many insta-pundits digested them and moved on way too quickly.

My main problem with the Internet's effect on the indie-rock scene is it doesn't let things gestate or grow any more. There's too much hysteria the moment something comes out and too much hysteria in general. Dude, remember when Pitchfork went crazy over Serena Maneesh? How about Tapes 'n' Tapes? (Alright, the former review was written by the now-discredited Nick Sylvester.) How about when Saddle Creek Records and everything Omaha was absolute gold? That was five-and-a-half years ago, not the 25 that it seems.

Maybe I'm just bitter that everything I do seems to take the slow road.

Thanks to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for the post's title. Kudos on the knowing wink that I think all the title implies about their past three-plus years.