Last year marked 20 years since the release of the self-titled album from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the project of Philadelphia singer-songwriter Alec Ounsworth. It was an important moment culturally as much as musically: the album was championed by Pitchfork, and became a favorite of the music “blogosphere.”
All these years later, the music of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah holds up, with its big melodies and huge choruses. Ounsworth’s vocals deserve to be singled out too, where here at Studio One we hear similarities to Thom Yorke and David Byrne. All of that talent is on display on “Fever Of The Mind,” the newest single from the band.
Much like the latest from Death Valley Girls, this new single and upcoming album come after a series of difficult times for Ounsworth. He and his wife divorced in 2020, and since then his mother and uncle have died, along with a close friend.
The lyrics of “Fever Of The Mind” give the distinct impression that Ounsworth is still processing all of these events and their accompanying grief:
“Fever of the mind, the kind you cannot see/
Fever of the mind, so much more than an ordinary disease/
I wish one time you could step in my shoes/
Just for that one moment I could be you.”
It’s a powerful introduction to the song, with no lesson or “words of wisdom.” Ounsworth is just telling us he’s hurting.
The feeling of the song though is triumphant and cathartic. Ounsworth’s vocals, on top of a bouncy, LCD Soundsystem-sounding keyboard riff, sound like a man who has every intention of powering through difficult times. It’s the sort of anthemic song we can all use, whatever we’ve got going on.
“Fever Of The Mind” is the first single from the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album Burned. It's the band's first new record in six years, and is scheduled to be released Jan. 29, 2027. "Fever Of The Mind" is available on streaming services, along with the rest of the band’s music.
