Museum Musica

USA, 2007, neo-psychedelia / art pop

Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam: I understand why Animal Collective gets some hate (though a lot of people love them): they’re kind of obnoxious, quite manic, quirky, and pseudo-experimental without being so experimental they alienate the psychedelia listener. Most people are like “what the fuck is this unlistenable garbage?” whereas others will be like “if I want experimental, I listen to a real band like so-and-so”. Animal Collective is in a kind of grey area. Inaccessible to the casual listener and not quite enough for the experimental listener. As far as my listening expectations are concerned, I enjoy the melodic structures of the songs with all the art pop experimentation they lay over them. The Collective creates sonic worlds you can walk through and wallow in, like tall grass in summer.