Animal Collective
Strawberry Jam
Domino
2007
Rating: 8 jars of jelly out of 10
I never quite understood all the buzz behind Animal Collective...sure, they were making some interesting sounds, but the songs weren't terribly listenable in my opinion. This new record “Strawberry Jam” is a beast of a different color though – it would appear they took their layered psychedelic folk and infused a heavy dose of pop hooks into the new songs. There are any number of reasons how this might have happened – the band maturing, a shift in my own tastes as to what a pop song is, or any other number of reasons. Either way, the bottom line is I find myself playing this album over and over, trying to sing along even if I don't always know what the hell they are saying but I do have the melody memorized. I wouldn't be surprised if the band's new found catchiness turns off some of their older fans, because it is a departure from their origins...but it will undoubtedly attract a new group of listeners as well, probably even more than they might possibly lose.
No comments:
Post a Comment