Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam

I’m not sure if it’s something that my mind’s subconsciously wrapping itself around but I’ve been loving percussion-driven music lately. Deerhoof features one of the best drummers in the business and now, Animal Collective’s best album was on my playlist all day today. “Peacebone” is a stunning opener, one that grandly introduces the album to the listener: loud, different, extroverted, weird? But “Fireworks”’s stampeding drums – a mixture that creeps the ¾ meter as if they are coming from the back to the front, before it reaches into an almost duple stomp as it reels on – Panda Bear’s fills and play of the hi-hat and snare really bring down the house. It’s about taking things for granted, and only seeing life as we want to see it and how, in the end, we’re all we see if we fail to overcome.


I feel a bit regretful that I’m not posting a video for “For Reverend Green” on here because it’s, without a doubt, my favorite Animal Collective song of all time. As far as melodies goes, it’s superb and as far as overall effect, it’s exceptional; it’s a beautiful song if you haven’t checked it out yet. But “Derek” is where the album closes and at the same time, marks just how perfectly in tune they were to each other in 2007. A few years earlier, Avey Tare and Panda Bear delivered a gorgeous album with Sung Tongs but this album broke the mold in terms of what exactly you could include and then, Panda Bear’s Person Pitch stretched the spectrum with its shattering fusions; with Strawberry Jam, they all contributed flourishing musical moments. It’s Panda Bear’s vibrant and colorful melodies, his tender vocals and the band’s corresponding drums on “Derek”: awesome. – Bryan