Purple Magick

Clap! Clap! is a band who began as a party act straight out of party town San Marcus, TX formed by a group of friends who “like[d] to dance more than anybody.” They are a great act who have finally recorded a proper full length album complete with a rap interlude, a hardcore outro and even some new topics besides dancing and clapping, like awkward sexual conquest… oh, and clapping.

Having always been reminiscent of a more fun Out Hud (yes, it’s possible) with the keyboard settings of the Faint - Clap! Clap! finally got hold of that Chromeo instrument where talking and synthesizers are melded in a hipster, Peter Frampton sort of way. If you want to see Clap! Clap! front man Josh dance so hard on stage with Chromeo that both members of the band start to laugh at him, then look no further than right here. It’s amazing.

The Clap! Clap! full length titled You Love This! features a worthwhile re-recording of a few tracks that were on an earlier, less produced EP. One, the classic “Talk Shop” is now tricked out to be reminiscent of the recent Islands track Where There’s a Whale There’s a Whalebone in which, out of nowhere and at the absolute perfect moment Subtitle and Busdriver pop up and make the song memorable with some contextual rap. For Clap! Clap! –Chief from Word Association, of San Marcus, chimes in to deliver a great segment that surprisingly fits right in. The Word Association appearance raises the question: “Who knew that anyone in San Marcus could rap?”

Self-aware and, concurrently completely serious tracks like The Trouble with Doubles and Props to the DJ sound like diary entries written after shutting down the Whiskey Bar on an Austin Thursday night, drenched with dollar wells and some deep-dance political thoughts heavy on the mind:

“I’d rather dance alone than dance with a drunk you” and “You only dip to what you’ve heard before… it’s not hip to just stand why don’t we dance anymore?!”

Ian Orth from Learning Secrets basically has a 5-minute ode written to his infamous weekly nights of debauchery. This album nails the Austin scene, which, in a large part thanks to Clap! Clap!, has become danceparty-centric… Oh, and there is a dope clap beat.

Underneath the lyrics ranging from dorm room heavy petting to outer space- the instrumentation ranges from cut up drum loop samples to enough synthesizers and funky bass lines to make George Clinton blush.

Album closer Coach explores a dark direction in contrast to the upbeat dance punk channeling fellow home town San Marcus cohorts and members of the Central-Texas Pantera fan club Oceanus, who gets on the mic to cookie monster throat growl the titular phrase “You Love This!" – I'm not so crazy about this ending note because I like my jamz to be a little more traditional, but it has to be handed to Clap! Clap!- they are bringing up their contemporaries with them like Nelly and the St. Lunatics and pushing the envelope on a genre that, if it’s not too careful could become as bland as pop-punk. The innovations and variations on the genre that Clap! Clap! have shown they are capable of prove that if they play their cards right they might just end up with their own sneakers and even an energy drink – again- just like Nelly!

Thankfully, dance punk revival is going to be around for a while. It is cool to go out get sweaty, rock out and shake it. With the popularity of LCD and the Rapture singing about dancing and the crowds going nuts- the world now have a new entrant into the talented dance post-punk game: Clap! Clap!. The recording quality and full sound of this album is unlike anything else locally being produced and is a fantastic representation of what locals have known for years- that Clap! Clap! live shows are out of control. Did I mention the clapping? - John @ PartyEnds.com

Already working from a reputation as one of the best live bands in Austin (and San Marcos), Clap! Clap!'s full-length debut You Love This has been building anticipation for almost a year. Onstage the group is a dynamic octagonal whirlwind of synths, guitar, electro-beats and unrestrained movement that lives up to their moniker and explodes infectiously into the crowd. It's the Rapture brought home and the Faint resuscitated, all with a playful enthusiasm that takes the pretentiousness out of IDM.

Needless to say, how well the group could translate this energy onto disc was a concern for us, but from this taste of the upcoming album, along with the title track contributed to our Sound Advice compilation, Clap! Clap! proves they're as adept in the studio as on the stage. On the opening track "Pressure of Your Pressure," the group crafts a smart conglomeration of any number of influences, melding them into a sound all their own while retaining the energy and exuberance that has defined them.

Opening easily with a solid beat and scratchy synth, the song picks up the pace with Joshua Mills pulsing vocals. This is all familiar DFA ground for the Clap, but as soon as the stuttering rhythms drop into the smooth New Order groove with Emilee Ausmus's delicate vocals echoing in the background, it's clear that Clap! Clap! has taken their music to impressive depths that is engaging and as continually surprising as Hot Chip's melding of influences.

You Love This will be banging into stores on April 27th with the official CD release going down at Emo's with an all-star up-and-coming lineup of Haunting Oboe Music, The Always Already, Crash Gallery and Car Stereo (Wars) behind the tables.
- AustinSound.net

Over the past couple of years Austin's own group of hand-percussion aficionados Clap! Clap! have been steadily building a reputation as one of the most entertaining live acts in town, bringing their very own brand of dance-punk to stages around town to perform in front of appreciative crowds eager to free their bodily movements of any restraint. After a year of work including many hours spent determening the very best method of transferring their high energy dance rhythms onto disc, Clap! Clap! are now prepared to offer up their first proper recording. The album titled You Love This! will be available starting next week at CD release shows at Emo's in Austin and Lucy's in San Marcos, at Waterloo and Sundance Records locally, and if you're not local you can also grab a copy through the official site and MySpace page.

You Love This! has keyboard and synth-driven sounds along with occasional guitar freak-outs on songs like "Relation Control" that instantly bring to mind the electronic-dance-rock style popularized by the Rapture, while other moments on the album such as the opener "Pressure of Your Pressure" recall the new wave tendencies present on the Faint's debut album. Another track on the album that begs repeated listening is "Space Dance," a downtempo dance track that occupies a full six minutes of last half of the album and sounds as if Bowie himself lent a hand in the production. You Love This! is filled with 10 tracks and clocks in at just under an hour in length, including a re-recording of the live favorite "Talk Shop" that features a guest spot from Chief of the local (San Marcos) hip-hop outfit The Word Association. - Coverty Curiosity

A small crowd of girls huddled in front of the stage while Clap!Clap! set up. The band has improved immensely in the last couple of years, and Wednesday, local Austin website Do512.com graciously sponsored the show at La Zona Rosa, (an Austin staple of a venue). Joshua Mills probably never thought his voice would be an aphrodisiac, but when ten girls are gyrating in front of you while you sing about disrobing one another, the guy better realize what his calling is. A no frills intro to the first song “Dr. Doctor” lights a fire under the most staid of show-goers. “Troubles Doubles” is a joint vocal effort featuring Emily Ausmus, who demonstrates the difficulties of comprehending a drunk girl. The glue that holds a lot of their sound together is Scott Ota, who at one point was playing separate keyboards at once. My neighbor once shouted “that is the sexiest sound in the world” when Ota pressed a single key.

On a more political note, “Talk Shop” seemed to be the song everyone was waiting for. Not since Ferris Bueller’s speech in the shower have we been given a platform from which to ponder the use or abuse of “isms”. “Talk Shop” is almost a mantra, and if I’d had time to stop dancing I might have realized the song had something to say.

With Vitamin Water as a new sponsor and one of their tracks playing at Forever 21 (the mall mecca of twenty somethings everywhere), their rise is bizarre and happening fast. Clap!Clap! has it together, and by the time they’re gracing the cover of Spin, I’ll be reviewing the newest band shamelessly copping their aesthetic.

–Sarah Padgett - Impose Magazine

From Arcade Fire to The Polyphonic Spree, vast, visionary artist collectives are all the rage in popular music today, with indietronica maestros Clap! Clap! providing Austin's - or San Marcos' - own spin on the ever-popular trend. In many ways kindred spirits to fellow local bands and electronica lovers The Octopus Project, The Lemurs and Ghostland Observatory, Clap! Clap! specializes in dance-until-you-drop electronica rock.

"You're seeing a lot of synthesizers in bands now, so it's a big thing," said band member Emilee Ausmus. "Technology and digital recording is changing the whole way people make music."

Playing their first shows in 2004 and rapidly attracting a following across Austin and San Marcos, Clap! Clap!, a shocking eight members strong, deserves particular mention for their frenetic, giddily live shows. Blending influences like Daft Punk, The Faint, The Rapture and various J-pop and '80s sounds, Clap! Clap! also incorporates that most natural and easy-to-learn of instruments: the clapping hand. With Doug Hanshaw on "lead claps," the band performs highly interactive, hook-heavy shows where even the most musically inept audience member is drawn into participating and creating the sound along with the band. Few local bands bring quite the energy to Austin stages that Clap! Clap! does.

"We definitely had an itch when we started, which was to do like a The Faint, The Rapture kind of sound, a very '80s dance-punk with a lot of funk in it too," said band founder and lead vocalist Josh Mills. "But really we just wanted to be energetic and make people dance and get naughty."

Riding high on the April 2007 release of their rock-solid full-length debut album You Love This!, Clap! Clap! performs tonight at 8 at La Zona Rosa as part of Do512's "Locals at La Zona Rosa" series of live shows. The show is free for audience members who register ahead of time at do512.com or is $5 at the door. - The Daily Texan