The previous full-length, 'Feels', demanded your time and devotion. There was so much going on, it took a while before your brain could actually process what was going on and why. The instrumental texture from 'Feels' is still present here, but the more direct focus on vocals seems very apparent from the off. This time around the melodies are delivered by the bucket-load in the form of chants and choirs that sound like a group of excited young friends.

The songs here have proper structure, something that the experimental, sprawling jams found on previous albums lacked. There are verses and choruses that weave in and out of each other with reverb and delay-soaked synths and electronics, with constant driving percussion pushing each song to its limit. In some ways, this album is a lot closer to the psychedelic electronica of Panda Bear, though most of the vocal duties on Strawberry Jam are taken up by Avey Tare. Glitches, noises and strange bubbling sounds build up and fade away and form a constant undercurrent throughout the record.

Everything here seems a lot more uplifting. The mood and lyrical content of the album are very different to the dark edge of 'Feels'. The vocal melodies seem cleaner, and the only track with any real kind of vocal modulation is '#1', the sole downbeat song on the whole album, which trades jungle like percussion for a repetitive, arpeggiated synth line and strange, haunting vocals.

This could be the album that everyone thinks of when the Animal Collective are mentioned, it seems like such a perfect and finished product. It sums up everything that they are about, and sounds like a record made by a band at the top of their game.

Matthew Benn