Clap Clap Riot Essentials

Auckland's Clap Clap Riot excels at the casually anthemic, as heard in the group chants and handclaps of “Everyone's Asleep.” They arrived at the tail end of the aughts with one foot squarely in sophisticated, classic pop (think The Beatles) and the other in jumpy indie rock (à la Vampire Weekend). That combination can yield either the nagging hooks of “All About the Weather” or the shimmering layers of “Rising in the Street,” but most often the band packs both aspects into a single vivid tune such as “Help Me.” And thanks to frontman Stephen Heard's dreamy delivery, the band succeeds just as much as when slowing down for sighing ballads.