You just have to appreciate someone who is trying to make pop music a little bit more interesting these days. We all know it desperately needs it most of the time. And
Strawberry Jam is by far Animal Collective’s most poppy album yet, but there is no need to worry, it is still comfortably weird.
The vocal acrobatics from Avey Tare are more animated than ever before, and with mostly monotonous instrumentalism as a thick backdrop, the result is just irresistible, as always. And how easy it would be to get lost in nonsensical pretentiousness here, but they avoid such things by making it ridiculously playful. It is still odd enough to trigger anyone’s fascination, but at the same time it is just so catchy that you can’t sit still.
First single, ‘Peacebone’, gives you a good idea of what the album sounds like, but their unpredictability never becomes, well, predictable. Much like Of Montreal in a way, only weirder. And sounding less like the Bee Gees, of course. Regardless, Strawberry Jam is packed with the most intriguing and exciting pop melodies around at the moment.