Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam (Domino, 2007)
Even though Animal Collective has been creating music for almost seven years, the break through of Sung Tongs (2004) has not quite faded away. The fluid nature of the band and its sound has continued with the even more electronically pronounced Strawberry Jam. The slick digital photography of this release contrasts with the handmade look of Sung Tongs and the storybook quality of Feels (2005). Musically, Jam seems detached from previous efforts as well. While maintaining the same raucous, chanty mood of the past, lead off track “Peace Bone” incorporates electronics in an extreme fashion. Esoteric lyrics follow with the line “an obsession with the past is like a dead fly” while the following track sounds more laid back. “Unsolved Mysteries” utilizes negative space between the bubbles emitted from the production and the basic melody. “Ralph and Florian” era Kraftwerk makes its influence felt on “#1” as the album becomes more disjointed, but never sloppy. Concluding Jam is the most Beach Boys inspired vocal selection as AC croon either about a child or a dog (take your pick) while the track spirals into the boom-bap production that closes out another further reaching Animal Collective offering.
