Strawberry Jam, 2007’s strongest album so far.
The story of this record ... is the strength of Avey Tare's voice, and how his singing anchors these songs, invigorates the band's idiosyncratic melodies, and offers a clear portal into Animal Collective's utopian dreamworld.
Rare is the album that's able to expand an established band's fan base while completely satisfying the cult of early flag planters, but Strawberry Jam has that chance.
Strawberry Jam might be art, but more interestingly, Strawberry Jam might be pop. Okay, avant-pop.
Strawberry Jam sounds as if it was a blast to make; happily, the fun doesn't stop there.
The freakiest freak-folk is rarely as freakish as the more disorienting triumphs of Strawberry Jam, a neo-psychedelic mind-fuck from Animal Collective.
Strawberry Jam is a record so varied and tough to pin down that it's hard to talk about the album as a whole, and easier to simply go for a track-by-track breakdown.
Strawberry Jam doesn't promise to be something for everyone, but it will certainly please those with an ear for the strange and surreal--even if you will have to sleep with your light on.
The sixth album by this neocommunalist, neopsychedelic quartet improves on 2005's Feels, flashing more shards of tune to lure the coeds with the Coleman PerfectFlow InstaStart Lanterns over to their adamantly unkempt campfire.
The sweetness of Strawberry Jam is savvily balanced by the sour, or at least the edgy.
As its title implies, though, Strawberry Jam is strange: luxurious and fractious, wistful and atonal.
๐๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ'๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐: ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ
It’s time to continue the Animal Collective discography dive! Honestly, I stopped at a bit of a weird place, right in the middle of their amazing 4-album run; Feels left off with a very soft, dreamy sound, and Strawberry Jam is here to completely subvert any expectations you had of the band. I’ve been loving where ... read more
Took me a while to realize that's a squashed strawberry in the cover art and not a rare-cooked steak
This did not help my crippling addiction to strawberries.
Favorites
Peacebone • Unsolved Mysteries • Chores • For Reverend Green • Fireworks • Winter Wonderland
I love the sound palette but dislike the way it is used. It's highly rated so I suppose it's just not for me, I'd like to revisit it with a fresh perspective in a few years, but atm this is overstimulating and every track felt like it was trying to annoy me, the screaming was abrasive and unnatural, a really tough listen.
1 | Peacebone 5:13 | 94 |
2 | Unsolved Mysteries 4:25 | 89 |
3 | Chores 4:30 | 88 |
4 | For Reverend Green 6:34 | 93 |
5 | Fireworks 6:50 | 95 |
6 | #1 4:32 | 85 |
7 | Winter Wonderland 2:44 | 88 |
8 | Cuckoo Cuckoo 5:42 | 89 |
9 | Derek 3:01 | 87 |
#4 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
#6 | / | Pitchfork |
#9 | / | The Skinny |
#10 | / | Prefix |
#10 | / | Treble |
#11 | / | Cokemachineglow |
#12 | / | No Ripcord |
#17 | / | Drowned in Sound |
#18 | / | Gigwise |
#34 | / | PopMatters |