Philadelphia Weekly

Instead of reflecting on the past, Alec Ounsworth chooses to simply remember. And sometimes the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman doesn't even do that very well.

What does he remember most about his turbulent and exhaustive 2007--a year that saw him traipse all over the world and back, sell scores of records and break the major label paradigm? Um. Well, he ran out of coffee the other day.

"It was tough to deal with because I drink a lot of coffee. So that stuck with me," he deadpans.

It's a stab at humor, but Ounsworth isn't the kidding kind. The man frequently described as David Byrne's heir apparent isn't fazed by getting married, releasing the album Some Loud Thunder and watching his band go from critically acclaimed up-and-comers to established headliners over the last year. He's staying in the moment, which means an elusive caffeine fix fresh in his mind has more impact than the personal and professional milestones he's reached--milestones he sees as little more than a natural progression.

"If it's unnatural, I don't do it," he says. "And if it's natural, I don't think about it."

The indie rock landscape is littered with overhyped acts. Everywhere you look there's a new music website or print publication looking to out-hip the competition--and attract readers--by regularly ordaining the next big thing.

With CYHSY drawing huge crowds around the globe and having sold more than 300,000 albums without the assistance of a major label, the eclectic pop rockers are fulfilling some of the hype the media has dished out. But the days of drawing attention as the new band on the scene are clearly in the rearview.

And Ounsworth couldn't care less. "Before we started touring in earnest, before we even released an album, we had what I still consider a genuinely enthusiastic following that believed in what we were doing," he says. "If certain elements of the machine stop reacting in our favor, that's all well and good because I think there will still be people who genuinely believe in the music."

And even if the believers start to thin out, the taciturn 29-year-old doubts it'll have much effect on his craft. "Everyone who takes the time to listen to anything we've recorded is greatly appreciated," he says. "But I never asked for it in the first place, and I don't write music to please everyone. I write music because I have to. I always will and it doesn't matter if everybody stops coming to the shows."

A more pressing concern at this point seems to be fatigue. CYHSY have a stop at the Starlight Ballroom this Friday followed by three sold-out shows at Washington, D.C.'s Rock and Roll Hotel before going on a short hiatus (they return to the road in late February to play gigs in Australia). It's a much-needed break after a year that included more than 70 performances; tours in Europe, Australia and North America; and festival appearances everywhere from the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Denmark to the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.

Not surprisingly, the considerable travel has left Ounsworth pining for home. "I don't find it as creatively stimulating as I once did," he says of life on the road. "It starts to eat away at you. Maybe that's my fault. Maybe the more you do something, the less exciting it becomes."

Ounsworth is hoping the time off will also provide him with the creative spark to do what he does best--write music. He keeps a regular tune-tinkering schedule while staying at his Pennsylvania residence, working until his wife returns home from her job. In the past the composer has split the output of his workday between CYHSY and a side project called Flashy Python and the Body Snatchers. Also in the works: a children's album inspired by his frequent bouts with illness.

"I used to get sick all the time and run a high temperature. I think it was psychosomatic," he says. "On one of these occasions, I just sat down to work on some ideas and my mind was in such a feeble condition that I started to write very naive melodies on the piano."

Though he didn't originally conceive them as children's songs, Ounsworth eventually went back to the demos and discovered they could be classified as such, though he's still undecided about whether they'll ever see the light of day.

But one thing's for sure: When Ounsworth does have material ready, he won't have to wait for a record label to decide when the public gets to hear it. Much has been made of CYHSY's DIY success, and Ounsworth vows to continue to adhere to the same model of self-distribution that the band proved viable.

"Hopefully I'll have something new by early next year," he says. "I don't know if it'll be with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but I'm not going to play the game of waiting until the correct time. When I have it, I'm just going to put it out."

It's that no-nonsense attitude that prevents Ounsworth from reflecting on his success, a practice that he refers to as "too flowery." Instead this interesting new voice in popular music is much more comfortable with a type of experience unencumbered by superficialities. "Remembering is more precise," he says. "I don't know if I reflect anymore. I reflected enough in the past to say that remember suits me well enough."

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Fri., Nov. 16, 7:30pm. $15. With Black Stoltzfus + Delta Spirit. Starlight Ballroom, 460 N. Ninth St. 866.468.7619. www.r5productions.com