All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Drowned In Sound

'Cuckoo Cuckoo' is another moment in which Animal Collective reach a new level of compositional mastery and broaden their territory.

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100

No Ripcord

Strawberry Jam, 2007’s strongest album so far.

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Pitchfork

The album's second half is slightly more abstract than the catchy pop that precedes it, but these moments are tempered, causing the record to feel more focused.

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Filter

The balance across the album (as opposed to the drop-off second half of Feels) makes it their most forward and enjoyable work to date.

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Prefix Magazine

Rare is the album that's able to expand an established band's fan base while completely satisfying the cult of early flag planters, but Strawberry Jam has that chance.

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Delusions of Adequacy

Due to its extreme use of repetition and electronics, it forgoes much of the curious, daydream-esque dynamic which had dominated previous Collective releases, but what has been assembled here is an astute, entrancing deconstruction of pop music. Highly and happily recommended to all.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Animal Collective's abstract and catchy sides are each constantly aware of what the other is doing.

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Almost Cool

It doesn't seem quite as strong as Feels, but also seems like the group might be on the verge of something even better.

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cokemachineglow

Strawberry Jam might be art, but more interestingly, Strawberry Jam might be pop. Okay, avant-pop.

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Billboard

What is exploding, writhing and fermenting behind Avey Tare's erratic voice is what's most interesting about this poppy, though experimental, set.

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All Music Guide

It makes for an utterly compelling, even obsessive listen.

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New Musical Express

It's as idiosyncratic and tinged with goofiness as one might expect for a band with members called Panda Bear and Geologist.

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Blender

The blend of organization--even the oddest, most precarious combinations of instruments sync up--and derangement is Animal Collective's version 2.0 of hippie whimsy, and it's quite a buzz [Oct 2007, p.105]

Q Magazine

Strawberry Jam sounds as if it was a blast to make; happily, the fun doesn't stop there. [October 2007, p.94]

Under The Radar

The overall portrait is that of a fruitful collision of four like-minded, talented artists bursting with ideas, and smart enough not to take their own genius seriously. [Fall 2007, p.78]

PopMatters

The album succeeds more than any of its predecessors because it always entertains and surprises.

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Uncut

But though much of the record revels in freaky electronics--'Chores' and 'Winter Wonder Land' rush through as though played by pixellated marching bands--there’s an overwhelming sadness to the undertow

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Sputnikmusic

Animal Collective is a completely different beast on Strawberry Jam, and it’s beautiful at times, it really is.

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The New York Times

Strawberry Jam, which comes in under 45 minutes, radiates not only hallucinatory good will but also a sense of song craft and suspense.

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musicOMH.com

Strawberry Jam doesn't promise to be something for everyone, but it will certainly please those with an ear for the strange and surreal--even if you will have to sleep with your light on.

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Alternative Press

The freakiest freak-folk is rarely as freakish as the more disorienting triumphs of Strawberry Jam, a neo-psychedelic mind-fuck from Animal Collective. [Oct 2007, p.160]

New York Magazine

Animal Collective has evolved; its songs continue to meander and digress, but the mania seems driven by a greater sense of purpose.

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Urb

AC still celebrates soaking up esoterica, but this album is the group's jauntiest, least emulsified. [Sep 2007, p.128]

Tiny Mix Tapes

The music tries to express what words can't, which makes this Animal Collective’s most combustive, "live" record yet.

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Village Voice

Just because there's an onslaught of verbiage and weird noises (like most pop these days) does not a pop album make. It is their most oxymoronic, though.

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Dot Music

This album's reduced sonic density is both refreshing and slightly disappointing, since the confounding head-rush of their tunes was always a large part of their appeal.

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Stylus Magazine

A long, exhausting listen, Strawberry Jam will occasionally satiate fans hungry for the band’s strange brilliance.

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Lost At Sea

The Collective's aspirations come off as bland and blurry, as if aspiration alone was the sole goal for this jam, spread out over three quarters of an hour.

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Observer Music Monthly

As its title implies, though, Strawberry Jam is strange: luxurious and fractious, wistful and atonal.

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Dusted Magazine

Strawberry Jam is a mixed proposition if ever there was one.

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The Wire

The nine songs her give a reason for detractors to raise their voices and for devotees to hope for something a little more evolved. [Sep. 2007, p.49]

Spin

The sweetness of Strawberry Jam is savvily balanced by the sour, or at least the edgy. [Oct 2007, p.98]

Rolling Stone

The sixth album by this neocommunalist, neopsychedelic quartet improves on 2005's "Feels," flashing more shards of tune to lure the coeds with the Coleman PerfectFlow InstaStart Lanterns over to their adamantly unkempt campfire.

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Mojo

An album of mischievous melody, fairground keyboards, cut'n'paste aural collage and an undeniable love of pop all but buried in junk shop Dadaist clatter. [Oct 2007, p.106]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 108 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Matt S gave it a10:
Best disc of the year hands down.

J. K. gave it a6:
Strawberry Jam serves as a solid introduction to the group, as it scales back on the more experimental aspects of their previous works and instead delivers some of the strongest pop and rock arrangements of their career. This is also the biggest problem with the album. It feels restrained and pigeonholed and like the sound of someone cramming a square peg into a circular hole. There's always been a little pop in Animal Collective but it's forced here and doesn't really find an acceptable middle ground.

Jerry J. gave it a9:
Relentlessly brilliant. The album is humble and without pretense. Full of color and autonomy. Get it.

Herbert P. gave it a3:
This is passing for music these days? Hipsters will eat up anything if an obscure band shits it out.

Adam D. gave it a10:
Once in a great while comes an album worthy of a perfect rating. To be perfect a record must be beautiful, fresh, and inspiring and thus a perfect rating should rarely be given out. Strawberry Jam not only deserves a perfect rating, it also deserves to be heralded the greatest of the decade thus far. Joining the ranks of the Beach Boys,The Beatles, Radiohead, The Pixies, and just a few others, Animal Collective have proven that they are capable of producing music we all can love and I hope to God they continue because we are in DIRE need of a great and reliable band!

James G. gave it a6:
I don't necessarily think this is a bad album but I do not hear any melody or purpose. It sounds like a jumbled mess or horses trampling my head. This album definitely makes me clean my house at a rapid pace. I will continue to give it a chance because I want to like it

Hildur M.. gave it an8:
Very good.

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