- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
'Cuckoo Cuckoo' is another moment in which Animal Collective reach a new level of compositional mastery and broaden their territory.
-
Strawberry Jam, 2007’s strongest album so far.
-
The album's second half is slightly more abstract than the catchy pop that precedes it, but these moments are tempered, causing the record to feel more focused.
-
The balance across the album (as opposed to the drop-off second half of Feels) makes it their most forward and enjoyable work to date.
-
Due to its extreme use of repetition and electronics, it forgoes much of the curious, daydream-esque dynamic which had dominated previous Collective releases, but what has been assembled here is an astute, entrancing deconstruction of pop music. Highly and happily recommended to all.
-
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.
-
Animal Collective's abstract and catchy sides are each constantly aware of what the other is doing.
-
It doesn't seem quite as strong as Feels, but also seems like the group might be on the verge of something even better.
-
Strawberry Jam might be art, but more interestingly, Strawberry Jam might be pop. Okay, avant-pop.
-
Animal Collective has evolved; its songs continue to meander and digress, but the mania seems driven by a greater sense of purpose.
-
Alternative PressThe freakiest freak-folk is rarely as freakish as the more disorienting triumphs of Strawberry Jam, a neo-psychedelic mind-fuck from Animal Collective. [Oct 2007, p.160]
-
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.
-
Animal Collective is a completely different beast on Strawberry Jam, and it’s beautiful at times, it really is.
-
Strawberry Jam, which comes in under 45 minutes, radiates not only hallucinatory good will but also a sense of song craft and suspense.
-
It makes for an utterly compelling, even obsessive listen.
-
It's as idiosyncratic and tinged with goofiness as one might expect for a band with members called Panda Bear and Geologist.
-
BlenderThe blend of organization--even the oddest, most precarious combinations of instruments sync up--and derangement is Animal Collective's version 2.0 of hippie whimsy, and it's quite a buzz [Oct 2007, p.105]
-
What is exploding, writhing and fermenting behind Avey Tare's erratic voice is what's most interesting about this poppy, though experimental, set.
-
The album succeeds more than any of its predecessors because it always entertains and surprises.
-
But though much of the record revels in freaky electronics--'Chores' and 'Winter Wonder Land' rush through as though played by pixellated marching bands--there’s an overwhelming sadness to the undertow
-
Q MagazineStrawberry Jam sounds as if it was a blast to make; happily, the fun doesn't stop there. [October 2007, p.94]
-
Under The RadarThe overall portrait is that of a fruitful collision of four like-minded, talented artists bursting with ideas, and smart enough not to take their own genius seriously. [Fall 2007, p.78]
-
UrbAC still celebrates soaking up esoterica, but this album is the group's jauntiest, least emulsified. [Sep 2007, p.128]
-
The music tries to express what words can't, which makes this Animal Collective’s most combustive, "live" record yet.
-
Just because there's an onslaught of verbiage and weird noises (like most pop these days) does not a pop album make. It is their most oxymoronic, though.
-
This album's reduced sonic density is both refreshing and slightly disappointing, since the confounding head-rush of their tunes was always a large part of their appeal.
-
A long, exhausting listen, Strawberry Jam will occasionally satiate fans hungry for the band’s strange brilliance.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 186 out of 204
-
Mixed: 11 out of 204
-
Negative: 7 out of 204
-
Sep 1, 2012
-
HerbertP.Dec 11, 2007This is passing for music these days? Hipsters will eat up anything if an obscure band shits it out.
-
Oct 17, 2021