Clap Your Hands Say Yeah leader Alec Ounsworth [ tickets ] plans to record an album with his current band rather than begin another CYHSY project after his solo tour ends later this month.

For the trek supporting his first solo album, "Mo Beauty," Ounsworth recruited guitarist Matt Sutton and The Teeth's Peter Modavis, Brian Ashby and Jonas Oesterle to back him, taking the place of the New Orleans musicians on the album, who include George Porter Jr., Stanton Moore and Al "Carnival" Johnson. The shows feature the new material, a few Clap Your Hands tunes and songs from Ounsworth's side projects Flashy Python and the Body Snatchers.

"In thinking about another record, the guys on the tour have the advantage of working together," he said from Louisiana. "Not to disrespect Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but I don't think there's enough time for us to get our footing (for a new album). This band keeps getting better and the songs lend themselves to showing off what the individual musicians can do.

"I have had conversations in the past (with musicians) where I would push people to work harder on their parts and they didn't respond. There's a reason you remember which David Bowie albums feature Adrian Belew or Carlos Alomar and Robert Quine's work with Richard Hell and Lou Reed and Marc Ribot, regardless of who is playing with. I don't have any problem with guys making suggestions. ... When a musician works at defining a song it takes pressure off me.

"The personalities are pretty strong in this lineup. I get to lean on other people."

Ounsworth's tour winds up Feb. 25 in Chicago. Details are shown at right.