Strawberry Jamis the seventhstudio albumby Americanexperimental popbandAnimal Collective.It was released in September 2007, the band's first onDomino Records.It was accompanied by the singles "Peacebone"and"Fireworks."The album was the band's first to chart on theBillboard200,debuting and peaking at #72.[5]
| Strawberry Jam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | September 10, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | January 2007 | |||
| Studio | Wave Lab Studios,Tucson, AZ[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:31 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Producer | Animal Collective | |||
| Animal Collectivechronology | ||||
| ||||
| SinglesfromStrawberry Jam | ||||
Recording
editThe album was recorded at Wave Lab Studios inTucson,Arizona.Band memberBrian Weitzexplained why they chose this location on the Collected Animals message board:
"dave [Portner]and i were talking a few months back about environments to record and one of us was like maybe it'd be sweet to make this next one a desert record and then everyone was like yeah man we haven't done that yet and it seems like it could fit the songs and the way we want them to sound. that might not make sense to anyone but us. "[6]
They finally settled on Tucson, where Weitz had previously lived. Moreover,Strawberry JamengineerScott Colburn, who also worked with the band to record the predecessorFeels,knew Wave Lab's owner. According to memberNoah Lennox,it was a conscious decision to record the album "in a desert setting."[7]
The group, particularlyJosh Dibb,struggled during the recording ofStrawberry Jam,with Portner stating it was "the first time we ran into a situation where we weren’t completely satisfied with what was happening".[8]As it was their first album for Domino, they were fearful of turning in what they felt was a difficult record. However, label manager Peter Berard assured the band the songs were "incredible", noting that they had a clarity that was absent from previous albums, and that they would appeal to newcomers and possibly expand their commercial potential.[8]
Album content
edit
The title and track listing were revealed by band member Geologist on the Collected Animals message board on May 16, 2007.[9]In a pre-release interview withBillboard,guitaristDeakin/Josh Dibbdescribed 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."[10]
Two songs that had been played extensively on the band's 2005–2006 concerts, "Safer" and "Street Flash", were not included onStrawberry Jam.Regarding the songs' absences, singer and guitaristAvey Tare/David Portnerwrote 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 EPWater Curses.
About the content of "Peacebone", Portner said in an interview with theBBC:
I'm just blending together visual images from different places. [...] But it always comes back down to the chorus, which is about having an obsession with the past, which is something I'm not into in terms of culture. Music should be more than just something to stomp to - it should be more interactive. For us it's not always about just writing a good song - we wanna play with your ears in terms of colours and space with sound.[11]
Title and cover art
editThe nameStrawberry Jamcame from singer and drummerPanda Bearas 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".[12]
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
editThe album'sInternet leakon 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 werewatermarked,and that each journalist's name would be digitally embedded in any extracted files.[13]On June 19, 2007, a letter from the band's publicist was sent to music journalists regarding the leaking of the first three songs:[14]
Last week three tracks from Animal Collective's new album leaked. Within minutes we were able to track the leak to a writer's CD. That person got in more trouble than you care to hear about and was almost fired. The person was also forced to write an apology letter to an entire staff of people and the head of Domino Records along with other penance.
Panda Bear talked with Shout Mouth regarding the band's thoughts on the leak:[15]
The only thing we’re really upset about with the leak is that it’s only parts of it. I think there are six songs out there now. People aren’t even able to get the full experience of the album, which bums us all out quite a bit. So if you’re listening leakers [speaking directly into the tape recorder], put up those other three songs, man, pronto.
The remaining three tracks— "Fireworks", "Cuckoo Cuckoo" and "Derek" —were all leaked on July 4, 2007.
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[16] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [17] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[18] |
| Blender | [19] |
| The Guardian | [20] |
| NME | 8/10[21] |
| Pitchfork | 9.3/10[22] |
| Q | [23] |
| Rolling Stone | [24] |
| Spin | 6/10[25] |
| Uncut | [26] |
The album received anormalizedrating of 79 out of 100 (based on 34 reviews from mainstream critics) fromMetacritic,indicating generally favourable reviews.[16]In a positive review, Mark Richardson ofPitchforkdescribed the band as having mastered "its distinctive experimental approach to songwriting, folding celebration, longing, doubt, loss, and acceptance into complex hooks and choruses."[22]Pitchforkalso rankedStrawberry Jam6 in their Top 50 Albums of 2007 list.[27]AllMusic's Thom Jurek calledStrawberry Jamthe band's "most primal yet most sophisticated record... to date," and praised the unresolved tension pitting Panda Bear's "bubblingsunshine pop"and" goodwill toward everything "against" [Avey] Tare's utter sense of alienation, his strangeness -- and estrangement -- from the limits and inconveniences of the human body and its politics, and his questioning of his own place in human relationships and interactions. "[17]Meanwhile, Erik Davis ofSpinwas more lukewarm in his review, rating the album three out of five stars and saying that it "rides the line between childlike and childish."[25]Mojocalled it "an album of mischievous melody, fairground keyboards, cut'n'paste aural collage and an undeniable love of pop all but buried in junk shopDadaistclatter. "[28]
As of 2012,Strawberry Jamhas sold 84,000 copies.[29]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written byAnimal Collective
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Peacebone" | 5:13 |
| 2. | "Unsolved Mysteries" | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Chores" | 4:30 |
| 4. | "For Reverend Green" | 6:34 |
| 5. | "Fireworks" | 6:50 |
| 6. | "#1" | 4:32 |
| 7. | "Winter Wonder Land" | 2:44 |
| 8. | "Cuckoo Cuckoo" | 5:42 |
| 9. | "Derek" | 3:01 |
| Total length: | 43:31 | |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from the liner notes ofStrawberry Jam.[30]
Animal Collective/ "Strawberry Band"
edit- Avey Tare– performance
- Deakin(credited as "Deacon" on packaging) – performance
- Geologist– performance
- Panda Bear– performance
Technical personnel
edit- Scott Colburn – recording engineering
- Nicolas Vernhes – mi xing, additional tracking
- Alan Douches – mastering
References
edit- ^"Listen Up - Animal Collective BBC Radio Session".Domino Recording Company. January 19, 2007.
- ^Barnes, Shane (February 18, 2016).""A Record That Feels Like It Doesn't Let Up": Animal Collective's Geologist on Not Chasing Fame and That Crazy "Wipeout" Sample ".Flavorwire.RetrievedDecember 29,2021.
- ^Battaglia, Andy (January 5, 2009)."Animal Collective: The Scientists".Spin.RetrievedFebruary 3,2022.
- ^Fitzmaurice, Larry (August 28, 2018)."Every Animal Collective Album, Ranked".Vulture.RetrievedFebruary 5,2022.
- ^Trust, Gary (January 22, 2015)."We're No. 1! 'Billboard #1 Gospel Hits' Debuts Atop Gospel Albums Chart".Billboard.
- ^"Collected Animals ~ View topic - tucson".rerz.net.Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 22,2022.
- ^Hatch-Miller, R."Dusted Feature: Panda Bear,"Dusted Magazine.
- ^ab"An Oral History of Animal Collective".
- ^"Collected Animals ~ View topic - Strawberry Jam".Archived fromthe originalon October 7, 2007.
- ^Ayers, Michael D. (April 27, 2007)."Animal Collective Finishing Up Domino Debut".Billboard.
- ^BBC Collective: "Strange Fruit."ArchivedDecember 13, 2011, at theWayback Machine16 August 07
- ^"The Wayback Machine has not archived that URL".RetrievedJuly 4,2008.[dead link]
- ^"Collected Animals ~ View topic - heard a rumor".Archived fromthe originalon July 24, 2011.
- ^"Domino Gets Fired Up About Animal Collective Leak".Shoutmouth.Archived fromthe originalon September 28, 2007.
- ^"Spotlight: Panda Bear".Shoutmouth.Archived fromthe originalon September 28, 2007.
- ^ab"Reviews for Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective".Metacritic.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^abJurek, Thom."Strawberry Jam – Animal Collective".AllMusic.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^Gordon, Scott (September 11, 2007)."Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam".The A.V. Club.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^"Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam".Blender(63): 105. October 2007.
- ^Peschek, David (September 7, 2007)."Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam".The Guardian.London.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^Worthy, Stephen (September 13, 2007)."Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam".NME.Archived fromthe originalon March 27, 2009.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^abRichardson, Mark (September 10, 2007)."Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam".Pitchfork.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^"Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam".Q(255): 94. October 2007.
- ^Christgau, Robert(September 4, 2007)."Strawberry Jam".Rolling Stone.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^abDavis, Erik (October 2007)."Strange Fruit".Spin.23(10): 98.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^Troussé, Stephen (September 10, 2007)."Listen To New Animal Collective Album Here!".Uncut.Archived fromthe originalon October 7, 2007.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
- ^"Top 50 Albums of 2007".Pitchfork.December 18, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 28,2017.
- ^"Review: Strawberry Jam - Animal Collective".Mojo.October 2007. p. 106.
- ^"Can Animal Collective's 'Centipede Hz' Make Them Mainstream Stars?".Billboard.September 4, 2012.
- ^Strawberry Jam(liner notes).Animal Collective.Domino.2007. WIGCD199.
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