In retrospect, it was kind of obvious that Alec Ounsworth
was going to leave Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (QRO live review) and go his own solo route.While the rest of the band lives in
Brooklyn, the singer/guitarist/songwriter lives in Philadelphia.Ounsworth was the clear frontman of the
group, with his signature mannerisms and alt-nasal voice (akin to Violent
Femmes' Gordon Gano).When,
earlier this year, CYHSY announced that they were abandoning plans to record,
and instead were taking time off to work on various other projects, the writing
was on the wall (despite a one-off return from hiatus a month later to appear
on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - QRO Indie on Late Night TV).
However, what wasn't expected was the direction that
Ounsworth would take on his solo debut, Mo Beauty.Ounsworth turns down
CYHSY's signature distortion in favor of older-timey sounds, as well as his own
voice.That nasal tone is still
rather divisive, but it's actually better, or least better fitting, when
Ounsworth strips down and really goes his own alt-folk route."Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (Song for New
Orleans)" may be a few (or more) years late, but is still powerful, and that
more stripped way plays into both Ounsworth's voice and the ‘new Alec
Ounsworth' he's trying to bring out on the record.
When Ounsworth goes bigger, one does notice the lack of the
rest of the band, who were underrated, or at least underappreciated/noticed in
their instrumentation.There's a
dance hall to the big moments of "Modern Girl (...With Scissors)" or "Idiots in
the Rain", but they can also get a bit forgettable.Stronger is the more pressing and even dangerous "Me and
You, Watson", where Ounsworth begins to rebuild his epic.
Mo Beauty ends on the
sad loss echo "Obscene Queen Bee #2" and slightly eighties nighttime "When
You've No Eyes", two interesting pieces that seem to point to further
growth.Alec Ounsworth hasn't
perfected yet where he's going (might not even know 100% for himself), and Clap
Your Hands Say Yeah fans might not be completely (or even mostly) behind where
that is, but he definitely warrants further study.
The Toronto band's first full album is wildly energetic, scattered with start/stop rhythms, and features pure vocal enthusiasm.
More...
