Electric Fetus and Radio K to Host Animal Collective Listening Party

Taken directly from the Electric Fetus website:

When: Tues., Jan. 6th
Where: The Minneapolis Electric Fetus

The Electric Fetus and Radio K are having a listening party for the new Animal Collective album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. The double, gatefold vinyl LP (180 gram) version of the album will be available for sale for the first time that day. The LP includes a full album download card in both wav and mp3 formats inside. The Fetus will also be taking pre-orders for the CD version which comes out Jan. 20th. Customers that pre-order the CD or buy the LP that day will receive a download card with an "Animal Collective Mix" of live tracks.

Ya'll internet freaks probably know that Animal Collective's latest has leaked--on Christmas Day, to boot--but that this also is an event to definitely attend. I've only heard it once all the way through (don't get nervous, I plan on purchasing this beast on vinyl), but this is my most basic reaction: While Merriweather is an excellent listen, it definitely comes off as Strawberry Jam 2: The Strawberrying. That said, do I have any complaints? Nope.

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

Download: Animal Collective - "Peacebone"
Download: Animal Collective- "Chores"

Animal Collective
Strawberry Jam (Domino, 2007)
Grade: A

So no one on this blog has said much about Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam yet. I was going to post something about it back when it would be, you know, relevant and all that. However, due to a very unfortunate two weeks, the album is just coming into my possession.

And it's fantastic.

Mark your calendars, dear readers, because this is one of the rare days that I actually like something. A lot.

Fellow MFRer Pete Farrell, our co-worker and I were talking yesterday. Pete remarked that the Animal Collective write songs that sound like campfire sing-alongs on acid. Agreed. The swaying, drunken swagger that most Animal Collective songs have a has always been one of my favorite things about them. I love mayhem, and Strawberry Jam has loads of it.

I've always found it hard to talk about Animal Collective in terms of over-arching sound and style. I don't know if they're about that as a band. Their core instrumentation is built of repetitive guitar parts that have enough jangle and bounce to them so that they keep moving. But really, it's always the little flourishes that make the song. The well-timed spoon sound on the second verse of "Winter Wonder Land," the little '70's sci-fi keyboard clip at the beginning of "#1" and the intermittent whistle in "Peacebone" are the types of sounds that build this album. It's shambolic and cluttered, but we can still find something to grasp on to underneath it all.

Panda Bear has always been a great singer, but I think the Avey moments define the vocals on this record. I know he enrages some people, because I guess his voice sucks or something, but he's like the Matt Sharp of Animal Collective. A falsetto shriek here and there is like the punctuation in an e.e. cummings poem: Panda Bear yodels on and drags this way and that, and I really do think that if it wasn't for Avey bustin' on in, Animal Collective songs – on all their records, not just Jam – would lose a lot of forward momentum. His vox mark ends where ends need to be marked, stresses stretches of song that need stressing and I appreciate that.

The funny thing is, I looked at some reviews on other sites after writing this, and Pitchfork really like Avey on this record, too. Is this the coming of the Avey Empire? Yes. Yes it is.

The bottom line is that Strawberry Jam is a phenomenal record. It has the perfect blend of momentum, songwriting and unpredictable little flourishes and perfect little moments.

Now, maybe it's the fact that I can count the amount of sleep I've gotten in the past 3 days on one hand, but stay tuned for another rare "April Wright Loves Something Moment," because Iron & Wine have a pretty damn good new album out.

(April Wright)

Buzz Bin: Animal Collective

I don't really buy hard copies of CDs anymore. Don't get me wrong--I still make an effort to purchase every album that really impresses or moves me. But I've moved so many times over the past five years that hauling around my CD collection was becoming a huge hassle. So last summer I decided to sell nearly every disc I own and burrow even further down the digital rabbit hole--my new record library is entirely electronic. I know this makes me part of the problem, one of "those people" that's partially responsible for the decline of local, independent record retailers, etc. Pushing the bigger issue aside, though, there are still a few bands that I'll always make a trip to the record store for, like Radiohead, The Walkmen, Modest Mouse and, most importantly, Animal Collective.

For my money, Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin and Geologist are making the best and (arguably) most innovative music today. A few days ago, Stereogum previewed and posted the tracklist of Animal Collective's forthcoming album, Strawberry Jam. Brooklyn's finest have been playing most of these songs for over a year now. (In fact, you could argue that their newer "new" material is even more compelling than the Strawberry Jam stuff.) In any event, I've posted some live videos of the band testing out the new material on the road. Keep in mind that there's generally a big disconnect between Animal Collective's live/studio sound, and most of these songs have changed significantly over the past year. The recorded versions of these songs may sound markedly different. But assuming they're even half as good as the live versions, prepare to get blown away by these guys again.

"Reverend Green"


"Peace Bone"


"Cuckoo Cuckoo"


And here's the tracklist. Domino will be unleashing Strawberry Jam this September.

01 "Peacebone" (5:13)
02 "Unsolved Mysteries" (4:25)
03 "Chores" (4:30)
04 "For Reverend Green" (6:34)
05 "Fireworks" (6:50)
06 "#1" (4:32)
07 "Winter Wonder Land" (2:44)
08 "Cuckoo Cuckoo" (5:42)
09 "Derek" (3:01)

(Pete Farrell)