| Strawberry Jam is the latest offering from avant-popsters Animal Collective and their first for Domino Records. With their jump to a substantially larger label, The Collective tighten their sound and focus the blankets of textures into thumping, triumphant pop songs, creating an album that is as accessible as it is adventurous.
Opening with the single “Peacebone”, chirpy, electronic blips give way to their oft-used tribal thump, throbbing and crunching as the vocals fill the mix like no other AC record. “Peacebone” makes it clear that AC have a better handle on all the exploding, muti-hued elements typically found in their songs, and they turn it out into a 5-minute pop mission statement. The following 4 tracks, each one as concentrated and powerful as the next, progress from up-lifting to cathartic, showing the Collective’s range and self-discipline.
One is tempted to compare this album to others in the AC catalog simply by the nature of their constant evolution. The bands’ ability to confound expectations is one of their most appealing qualities. While Strawberry Jam is a focused effort overall, they still manage to squeeze in brief moments of bewildering texture. At the end of the “Unsolved Mysteries” the chopped guitar chords and circus-like melodies melt into a brief 8-bit industrial stomp before kicking into the pitched-up surf pop of “Chores”. This seemingly chance progression defines Animal Collectives style and their aptitude for surprising the listener with shifting dynamics and non-linear movement.
The lengthy meandering jams one might expect on an AC album are phased out almost completely, save for the polarizing “#1”, a song that forces an oddly-timed synth part on top of a meditative and . This is the kind of adventurousness that draws folks to Animal Collective, but on an album with such focus and efficiency, “#1” seems to kill the momentum built by the tremendous first half. In its defense, the powerfully transcendent “Fireworks” draws the listener into an ethereal lucidity that implores to be followed by such an oblique, hypnotic tune. Regardless of the effect of the transition, it still illustrates Animal Collective’s penchant for unconventional pacing. The powerful first half gives way to a less concentrated (yet still engaging) second half. This is a minor issue which barely detracts from the success of the album, but it is worth noting.
Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the album is Avey Tare’s development as a vocalist. Warping and twisting his voice onto every song on Strawberry Jam, he fits a host of emotions into one yelp. Liberating and restrained, forced and earnest, his singing is a mess of contradictions. But like the rest of the elements of Animal Collective’s sound, Tare’s voice takes that contradiction and walks along the balance, using the change in dynamics to create something powerful and transcendent. Reviewed
by: Brian K.
Comments? Discuss this review in the forum |
