After the release of their debut in 2009, critics had lots of nice things to say about the San Francisco band Girls. Here’s a band that came with a strong DIY attitude, wore their influences proudly and penned songs that surely connected with audiences. On Father, Son, Holy Ghost the band’s second full album, it’s hard not to echo those praises yet again. Frontman Christopher Owens and band have recorded an album that lives in the present, but brings with it a comfortable feel of the past.

It’s understandable why fans get a bit antsy whenever a band decides to spend some time apart. Too often it suggests that we try to read between the lines, whether there’s something to unfold or not. Contrary to some reports, in the case of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah the idea that the band was taking ‘a break’ was as literal as it sounds. Almost four years since their release Some Loud Thunder, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah reunites for the release of their third studio album Hysterical.