Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
(Domino, 2007)
89.7%
"Chores" (mp3)
Animal Collective are back with yet another album to add to their increasingly prolific career, and while Nicole's review is more than enough to represent our blog (and gives the better score), we decided early on that if an album is released that more than one contributer feels the need to write about it, then so be it. If nothing else, the fact that both Nicole and I had to write something about this album should speak volumes about just how good this album is (and be on the lookout for a third review as well). The more time I spend with it, the more I think it just might be the best album released under the Animal Collective name, no small feat considering I've held Sung Tongs pretty dear to me for the past three or so years since its release.
The main reason why: Strawberry Jam is home to some of the Collective's most accessible songs. Sure, lyrics like "bulimic vegetarian wins weight contest" or "the other side of takeout is mildew on rice" might turn off the masses, but musically, Strawberry Jam is probably best described as, dare I say it, Animal Collective's pop album. Which is fine with me, its not like the Collective are not unfamiliar with pop song, as evidenced by such standout tracks like "Who Could Win a Rabbit" and "Grass" from Sung Tongs and Feels respectively.
But remember, this is not a pop album, just Animal Collective's pop album, which means, unless of course you are totally unfamiliar with Animal Collective, you should find some familiarity in this Strawberry's jams. In that regard, Strawberry Jam reminds me of when Kid A was released almost seven years ago. Many of Radiohead's fans complained that the album was not as good as their prior works, mainly because guitars were conspicuously absent throughout much of the album. While there's no arguing that many of those fans never came back, others did finally warm up to the album when they eventually realized that the songs were still good, it was only the instruments that were different.
The same can be said for Strawberry Jam. Say goodbye to the comfy and warm acoustic sounds of Sung Tongs, or the faucet drip minimalism that makes up most of Feels' second half. This time around the Collective rely heavily on synths, sequencers, and sample, while electric guitars are often relegated to the background. The album, like their predecessors, is also densely layered, but now the bass is more in the mix than ever before. The song "Chores", may be the best example; the song is a psychedelic headphone head trip with pounding drums, vocal chants, and swirling samples. And that's just the first half of the song, we haven't even got to the part where it transforms into a campfire disco party. Yes, I'm serious, but they pull it off flawlessly.
The exciting part about listening to Strawberry Jam, for me at least, is that I never once got the feeling like Animal Collective have outdone themselves. Whether or not I'm right remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that for now, in 2007, Animal Collective are certainly out pacing the competition.
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
(Merge, 2007) 61.0%
"Blue Headlights" (mp3)
The Shout Out Louds' sophomore album picks up where the first left off. The pop Belle & Sebastian-esque pop sensibilities remain intact, and singer Adam Olenius sounds as much like Robert Smith as ever before. There are some fine songs on the album, notably "Blue Headlights," which sees multi-instrumentalist Bebban Stenborg taking over lead vocal, and the album's closing track "Hard Rain", which could be mistaken for a long lost Anniversary track if not for the Sweedish accents.
As a whole, Our Ill Wills is not a bad album, the album does the indie-pop/indie-rock thing very well. It's biggest offense is that it winds up sounding so much like the Cure or Belle & Sebastian at times that I wonder why I shouldn't be listening to, well, you know where I'm going with this one. Perhaps with a broader scope of inspiration, or more lead vocals from Stenborg, this album might have struck me a little more. But alas, twas not meant to be.
The Go! Team - Proof of Youth
(Sub Pop, 2007)
65.7%
"Titanic Vandalism" (mp3)
The Go! Team's follow up to the surprise indie smash Thunder, Lightning, Strike appears to rely on the hope that lightning can indeed strike the same place twice. Unfortunately, Proof of Youth offers very little new to The Go! Team's sonic pallet, its almost like they followed the Hollywood formula of making a sequel (make the same movie, but with more). Thunder, Lightning Strike was not exactly original, bands had been making rock and hip-hop music over samples for decades before The Go! Team came along. The reason their debut worked so well was because the songs on Thunder sounded both a little bit old and new. Ninja's raps were recited like schoolyard chants and, of course, cheerleader cadences, and musically it often sounded as if Team captain Ian Parton was channeling his inner Kevin Shields.
The problem with Proof of Youth is that it is more or less the same album. The songs aren't bad, but instead of sounding fresh they come off as formulaic. However, there are a couple of notable exceptions. Both "Fake ID" and "I Never Need it Now So Much" evoke a masked twee pop sensibility while retaining an edge that feels natural to The Go! Team, preventing either song from sounding like copycats. In "Fake ID", it's a distorted punk guitar riff that masks the glockenspiels, making you wonder why Deerhoof and Camera Obscura never teamed up for an album, while the wall-of-percussion sound (which now seems like a Go! Team trademark) helps "I Never Need it Now So Much" fit in with the rest of the album's sampledelic pastiche. Both songs offer hope that Proof of Youth may only be a sophomore slump and not the beginnings of a band with nothing left to do but imitate themselves.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Little Blurbs
Monday, September 10, 2007
Album Review: Animal Collective - Strawberry Jams
Femme Fatale says...
92.0
Great albums come and go, but great bands are rare. What differentiates artists with a flash-in-the-pan success from those who rest comfortably among the greats? Longevity, of course, but also reinvention and rediscovery. Nothing speaks more for a band than diehard fans, but more specifically, diehard fans of particular albums.
In less than a decade Animal Collective has forged a fanbase that includes Here Comes the Indian followers who fell in love with the band at its most primitive, Sung Tong worshippers who prefer airy, drum-beat chants like “Winter’s Love,” and Feels fans who seek poppier, more traditional song structures. Now from the proverbial mixing pot springs Strawberry Jams, the band’s latest witches’ brew. Somewhere “Fireworks” are exploding in music lovers' headphones, and a new wave of sycophants is falling under the band’s spell.
How does a band stay true to its core while pursuing a new, singular sound? For Animal Collective this has meant experimenting with what makes songs. I’ll never forget my first crack at “College,” the breezy Sung Tongs charmer that distills its theme in its sole lyric, “You don’t have to go to college.” You don’t have to live life according to an instruction manual, the band purports, any more than we have to make music following one. On Strawberry Jams experimentation means shifting the focus to more lyric-based tunes. Standout track “For Reverend Green” proves that being lyrical doesn’t have to hold up to the term's pleasant connotations. The result? Avey Tare’s vocal cords run ragged on a loaded gun of a track that could have misfired -- if it didn’t pop on every gut gripping level. The track's jagged edge is the perfect segue into the sleepy builder "Fireworks."
An Animal Collective for every season, perhaps? Perhaps it’s because I’ve been jamming to these jams all summer, but the album evokes the tingle of an early sunburn, palms sticky with popsicle. With Strawberry Jams Animal Collective has proven they have the wherewithal to journey from the promise of spring to the isolating bleakness of winter and back again. This is the moment that music lovers/critics revere, the moment they can say a favorite band has what it takes to be one of the greats.
Sonic Ryan says... Click here.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Have You Heard?
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jams
I'm pleased to say this "leak" is not only sweet but sticky, too -- I've already smeared these jams all over the crevices of my brain. The ants have taken a liking to it, too.
Well, I guess you can only take the Strawberry Jams analogies so far... Seriously, though, this leaked version is much better than one I previously encountered -- and the album is much more cohesive without, you know, the death metal and "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" tune.
A review is forthcoming from either Ryan or I (perhaps both), whenever the hell the thing is released. September, right guys? You get on that, and I'll polish my puns.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Live Review: Animal Collective
May 20, 2007
The Granada
Lawrence, KS
OR, Everything I Learned About Animal Collective I Learned in Kindergarten
Thinking about “Sweet Road” in a recent Crayola commercial, I thought the 5/20 Animal Collective show could best be discussed through observations straight from the coloring book.
Lesson No. 1: “Sometimes it’s OK to color inside the lines.”
A fellow Animal Collective fan said of a Here Comes the Indian-era show, “They didn’t really play songs.” Avey Tare has said that at that time the band was improvising more and more, yet they were concerned about relying on improv in a live setting. Perhaps that is why, all of the chaotic chanting aside, the band relies on a more structured set these days. This structure in many ways seems to have worked its way into the new material as well.
Fans of 2002’s Here Comes the Indian or 2003’s Sung Tongs will see the band building on the more traditional songs found in 2005’s spectacular Feels. Often the band worked to balance the frenetic chaos of its trademark sound (chanting, tribal drums, etc.) with more typical song structures. Perhaps one song early in the show epitomized this tightrope act: we are greeted by three-to-four minutes of a traditional song arc, followed by several minutes of feverish, foot-stomping chants. On one track about a “girl with the flower in her hair,” Tare sings the wistful opening verse over minimalist backdrops. As he segues into the next verse, a wall of sound crackles over the lyrics, obscuring them. Still the framework remains, a spider web quivering under all the noise.
Thankfully, both Avey Tare and Panda Bear can sing. And, as one discovers when the sound is stripped down, their lyrics ain’t half bad, either. Bringing vocals to the foreground (a transition started with Feels) could be an intriguing move for the band. Of course, who’s to say they won’t pile on the reverb or other noise in post-production? (For those who still haven’t heard the acoustic version of “Flesh Canoe,” check it out. Alas, if only Avey Tare and Kria Brekkan had made an album of songs like this one, as opposed to Pullhair Rubeye.)
An aside: I would be remiss to discuss the show without commenting on the new material, as this new material constituted 90% of the concert. That said, this is Animal Collective we’re talking about. What I heard in concert may sound nothing like what makes it onto Strawberry Jam. Maybe the basic songs will stay the same, but they’ll layer more sounds/beats. Maybe they’ll sing the lyrics in a made-up language, a la Sigur Rós. Maybe they’ll play the album backwards.
Lesson No. 2: “Even if you don’t have a 164-pack with built-in sharpener, you can still create a masterpiece,” OR, “Even if your crayons aren’t sharpened, you can still make do.”
I expected a troupe the likes of Broken Social Scene to drag onstage, carrying any number of bongos and banjos and clothed in tribal garb. Instead, out walked Panda Bear in his Adidas shirt; Avey Tare in his sideways cap. At least the Geologist was wearing a light strapped to his head, which I’d like to think is more about achieving that whole “miner look” than for any practical purpose like, say, seeing the controls. Thankfully the crowd answered the Collective's calling. The girl with the paper mache Panda Bear head certainly proved her loyalty, not to mention the group at the front dressed as various animals and err, Lady Liberty?
But hey, these guys aren’t here for a costume party (no offense, Flaming Lips). They’re here to make some amazing music. And they don’t need anything but a drum and a keyboard and some electronic doohickies to do it.
Lesson No. 3: “You can always borrow someone else’s crayons if they have colors you don’t.”
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the incorporation of electro/dance beats into the mix. That’s right: think Animal Collective Dance Party. During this part of the show many fans were scratching their heads, looking at one another in disbelief, and then promptly dancing like ecstasy-riddled fiends. During one song the Collective toyed with rhythm: the beat would draw you in and then fracture, leaving you thumping along to an unpredictable, yet infectious rhythm. Hey, many of us aren't the greatest dancers – now we have an excuse.
Minutes later I thought I’d wandered into an Islands show, as the band transitioned into a calypso-infused tune. I saw much hands-in-pockets, head bobbing, shuffling in place action that climaxed with a tribal dance song that I have a feeling will be my next “Purple Bottle.” All I can say is that the guy wearing the 80s sweatband probably never thought the accessory would be put to such good use.
Lesson No. 4: “Don’t act like you like my picture and then toss it aside.”
This final lesson may have little, or nothing, to do with Animal Collective. Still, it needs to be said. Whether it’s the band or the lights guy or the venue manager or whomever, the Granada has to stop blue balling its audiences when it comes to encores (read: Joanna Newsom’s 12/10/06 show). I completely respect an artist’s choice not to play an encore. I paid my $12 and got way more than my money’s worth. That said, I do not understand how someone could allow a crowd to cheer in the dark for ten minutes or more, only to turn the lights on after we’ve screamed ourselves hoarse? I admit that little part inside me wanted to believe that after the room cleared a bit, the Collective would return and say, “Now that it’s just us and all you REAL fans…” They didn’t, and that’s OK – but come on guys, do you have to be such teases?