Strawberry Jam

Infobox Album
Name = Strawberry Jam
Type = studio
Artist = Animal Collective


Released = September 10, 2007
Recorded = January 2007cite web|url=http://www.dominorecordco.com/site/?page=news&artistID=236|date=2007-01-19|title=Listen Up - Animal Collective BBC Radio Session|publisher=Domino Recording Company]
Genre = Avant-garde music/Indie rock/Neo-Psychedelia
Length = 43:36
Label = Domino
Producer = Scott Colburn
Reviews =
*AbsolutePunk.net (92%) [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=251624 link]
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:g9fpxzlgldte link]
*Drowned in Sound (10/10) [http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2381948 link]
*Dusted Magazine (Mixed) [http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3824 link]
*NME (8/10) [http://www.nme.com/reviews/animal-collective/8956 link]
*No Ripcord (10/10) [http://www.noripcord.com/?q=node/757 link]
*Pitchfork Media (9.3/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/45460-strawberry-jam link]
*Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau|hm1 [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=5581&name=Animal+Collective link]
*Rockfeedback Rating|5|5 [http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=5048 link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/animalcollective/albums/album/16079606/review/16256478/strawberry_jam link]
*Tiny Mix Tapes Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Animal-Collective,4218 link]
Last album = "Feels" (2005)
This album = "Strawberry Jam" (2007)
Next album = "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (2009)

"Strawberry Jam" is the seventh studio album by New York based band Animal Collective. It was released on September 11, 2007, and is the band's first release for Domino Records. The title and track listing were revealed by band member Geologist on the Collected Animals message board on May 16, 2007. [ [http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=4028 Collected Animals ~ View topic - Strawberry Jam ] ] The press response to "Strawberry Jam" has been mostly positive, with some lauding its unique sound as a large step forward in the band's evolution. The album charted on the Billboard Top 200, debuting and peaking at #72. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=305&cfgn=Albums&cfn=The+Billboard+200&ci=3086562&cdi=9403152&cid=09%2F29%2F2007 Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales ] ]

"Strawberry Jam" was released on iTunes with an exclusive live version of "Cuckoo Cuckoo" and a digital reproduction of the album's booklet.

Album content

In a pre-release interview with Billboard, guitarist Deakin described the new album as "chiseled" and "shiver-inducing". According to the interview, the majority of the album's songs were played on the band's live shows from 2005 to 2006, but that there would be, "nonetheless, a few new ones that we've never played live." [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003577833 Animal Collective Finishing Up Domino Debut ] ]

Two songs that had been played extensively on the band's 2005–2006 concerts, "Safer" and "Street Flash", were not included on "Strawberry Jam". Regarding the songs' absences, singer and guitarist Avey Tare wrote to fans that the band recorded studio versions for both, but decided against including them on the album, "partially due to their length [s] ". "Safer" was eventually released as the B-side of the album's first single, "Peacebone", while "Street Flash" and other studio leftovers appeared on the 2008 EP "Water Curses".

Title and cover art

The name "Strawberry Jam" came from singer and drummer Panda Bear as he and the band were on a plane headed to Greece for a show. Upon receiving his complimentary tray of food, he opened up the packet of strawberry jam that had been provided for the bread. As he removed the cover of the packet, he was drawn to the look of the glistening jam, and he expressed his desire for the production of their new album to sound like the jam looked, "that is to say, something that's really synthetic and sharp and futuristic looking," but also "tangy and sweet, almost in a kind of aggressive way in terms of the way it tastes". [http://podcast.radio.ist.utl.pt/mafama20070806.mp3]

Avey Tare created and photographed the cover art. Additional layout and design was done by Rob Carmichael, with whom Animal Collective has collaborated on several other projects.

Internet leak

The album's internet leak on June 12, 2007, was notable in that it was leaked in three song clusters over a period of weeks. Geologist wrote on the Collected Animals board that the first batch of promotional copies were watermarked, and that each journalist's name would be digitally embedded in any extracted files. [ [http://www.rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?p=44802#44802 Collected Animals ~ View topic - heard a rumor ] ] On June 19, 2007, a letter from the band's publicist was sent to music journalists regarding the leaking of the first three songs: [cite web|url=http://www.shoutmouth.com/index.php/news/16150|title=Domino Gets Fired Up About Animal Collective Leak|work=Shoutmouth]

Panda Bear talked with Shout Mouth regarding the band's thoughts on the leak: [cite web|url=http://www.shoutmouth.com/index.php/news/16764|title=Spotlight: Panda Bear|work=Shoutmouth]

The remaining three tracks—-"Fireworks", "Cuckoo Cuckoo" and "Derek"—-were all leaked on July 4, 2007.

Track listing

# "Peacebone" – 5:13
# "Unsolved Mysteries" – 4:25
# "Chores" – 4:30
# "For Reverend Green" – 6:34
# "Fireworks" – 6:50
# "#1" – 4:32
# "Winter Wonder Land" – 2:44
# "Cuckoo Cuckoo" – 5:42
# "Derek" – 3:01

References