Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
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CD Details
Artist: Animal CollectiveBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2007-09-11
Model: 00801390015625
Music Label: Domino
Soundtracks:
- Strawberry Jam
- Peacebone
- Unsolved Mysteries
- Chores
- For Reverend Green
- Fireworks #1
- Winter Wonder Land
- Cuckoo Cuckoo
- Derek
Music reviews of Strawberry Jam
Music Review: Strawberry Jam
Rating: 4 Stars
For all of Animal Collective's stylistic leapfrogging over the course of six albums, one could reductively say that their career has been a steady trajectory toward accessibility. "Accessibility" is, of course, a relative term, and it depends on who you ask; there are some for whom the Collective's shrieking vocals, unconventional riffing and fried electronics will never feel welcoming. But many of the band's latest songs are accessible in that they utilize elements typically found in a pop song, such as beats, choruses, and decipherable lyrics. To hear their newest music in the context of their alternately formless and vitrified early work is basically to witness two entirely different bands.
Feels (2005) was much more rockish than anything Animal Collective previously allowed themselves to do, though they still traded off between tribal, ADD pop and soupy ambient pieces. (I was slow on the uptake with these at first, but they offer great rewards down the line.) The band must have realized that their pop songs best held listeners' interest, because Strawberry Jam is almost entirely comprised of them. Interestingly, though, the nature of the pop is different. Instead of the shimmering, rounded tones that caress you as they pull you toward some sort of fauna heaven, Strawberry Jam prefers to jab, not lifting you up so much as stunning you where you sit and lurching you backward. The comparison to Mercury Rev's aberrant pop works well here; for an even better one, imagine some of the nightmarish fairy tale music on Animal Collective's own Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (2000) reformatted for a more mainstream setting.
Take "Peacebone," for example. It's an audacious way to begin an album--a demented and seriously creepy romp in which Avey Tare mentions broccoli, monsters, mildew, and other things you wouldn't want to encounter in the bathtub, in a voice more direct and understandable than makes us feel comfortable. Speaking of which, one of the most glaring changes from Feels to Jam is the decipherability of the vocals. Those who appreciate easy-to-understand lyrics may approve, but for me, the pleasure of this band didn't come from what was sung, but how it was sung: in shrieks, warbles, hisses and coos, befitting their bestial moniker. It cuts out a major portion of their mystery, but then, mystery isn't where Strawberry Jam sets its crosshairs. It's a record that's meant to be stared at in awe, not a place to explore.
To that end, Strawberry Jam has some choice moments. "Fireworks" is the one song here that's incredible the whole way through--a sweetly lovelorn track whose emphatic vocals help it reach near-"Purple Bottle" levels of exultation. "Derek" has the feel of a typical Animal Collective B-side before its amazing second half, where Panda Bear chants scales over a stomping beat that he had to have pilfered from a hockey game. The skittish "Winter Wonderland" and the vaguely calypso "Chores" are both fresh and reminiscent of what the group did so well on their last two records. The more ambient, piano-led "Cuckoo Cuckoo" actually sounds like a blatant holdover from a time when the band was fine with seeing how long they could stretch a drone. To read the blogs and message boards, it's everyone's least favorite track, but for my money it's insanely gorgeous, and I'm not ready to let Animal Collective give up the liquefied side of their personality so easily.
And then there is, of course, the question of where this sonically itinerant band will go next. I wondered the same thing after hearing Feels, believing that they'd reached both their high water mark and a dead end. Strawberry Jam seems like the only logical place they could have ended up: It's a spinier version of Feels' most ebullient moments, abundant in hooks and freakouts but lacking in depth. Even this late in the band's career, though, they remain unbelievable songwriters, still turning riffs upside down and finding ways to subvert our expectations of how rock music should sound. So, my worry that Animal Collective has nowhere else to go is somewhat allayed by their creative brilliance and tireless work ethic. Besides, if Panda Bear can write Brazilified Beach Boys songs and Avey Tare can release an entire album played backwards, we'd be idiots to think that the sky wasn't the limit.
Description of Strawberry Jam
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Animal Collective takes up where they left off with 2005's Feels, continuing with more traditional rock instrumentation (underlying a wealth of bizarre noises, rhythmic loops, and effects, naturally). The songs were written in a live setting (and polished on tours), and certainly convey that energy. They also convey the madcap experimentation that is the band's hallmark. As with Feels, or the preceding Sung Tongs, this is tempered by stellar songwriting ability, the ultimate factor in its success. The album opens with "Peacebone," an immediate indicator of the oddball, inspiring pop that follows. Its lyrics seem to be an inspirational missive on seizing the day, but then who can tell? On "Chores," Panda Bear puts in a manic sing-song with his Brian Wilson tenor, over a driving bed of sound effects and synth noises. "For Reverend Green" starts with a distorted wash of tremolo guitar and soon gives way to one of the finest pop songs the band has offered. Granted, it may not be radio pop, what with the mouth noises and surreal lyrics, but that's no small part of its charm. "Winter Wonder Land" is manic fist-pumping pop of the first order, and the crackly mellow piano sample opening "Cuckoo Cuckoo" does not prepare one for its pounding bombast. 2007 has been a typically prolific year for the band, and despite (or because of?) all their divergent pet projects, they've managed to improve with each outing. One can never quite tell what's next, and that's half the glory. Animal Collective's irreverence, absurdity, openness, and sheer melodic prowess conspire to produce yet another exceptional album. --Jason Pace
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