We hope you like jammin'

The have funny names, even funnier publicity photos, and each member lives in a different city. But luckily for us, the Lison-Reykjavik-NY-and-DC dwelling Animal Collective do get together now and again. They tell Jim Carrollabout their new album.

THE more the interviewer goes on about how wonderful Strawberry Jam is, the more two of its creators look at the floor. David Portner (aka Avey Tare) and Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) have been hearing similar comments about the new Animal Collective album for a couple of weeks now, and they're still not used to the flattery.

In fact, according to Lennox, he expected to hear the opposite. "I really thought people would hate the new album. All the albums so far have been steps up from the previous one, but this is a whole new departure. I thought it would be a weeding out of the fans who didn't like that weirder side of our sound. But people think it's the poppiest thing we've ever done, that it's so instant. Those reactions surprise me."

Strawberry Jam could well be the album to propel Animal Collective to a new level. The hallucinogenic, ragged cut-and-paste folk-pop, which has been their well-worn currency on the likes of Feels and Sung Tongs, has sprouted major-league harmonies and melodies. Songs such as Peacebone and Chores are brighter and brasher by comparison with what has gone before, while interest in the band has reached that fascinating tipping point where anything is possible. The fact that Animal Collective are now lined up with the Domino label worldwide is also a sign of serious intent.

Sitting in Domino's London office, Portner and Lennox look and sound as if they're still coming to terms with what such a jump actually means. For a start, the four band members currently reside in different spots (Reykjavik, Lisbon, Washington DC and New York), but that's not a wholly insurmountable problem.

"That just needs planning," says Portner, "and that can only be better than what used to be the norm. We used to end up having to make split-second decisions about going on tour or not going on tour, and that was such a headache. This is better. Sure, you have to schedule stuff far in advance, which can be a little bit of a downer. This way, you can prepare for things rather than just let them happen. You have to be very regimented, especially when it comes to the writing and recording and rehearsing."

"I know now what I'll be doing in December," muses Lennox to no one in particular. "What happens if I want to be free to walk around in the countryside then?"

Then, there are the solo releases to take into account. Panda Bear's Person Pitch is up there with Strawberry Jam as one of the albums of 2007. Portner's Pullhair Rubeye with his wife, ex-Múm member Kria Brekkan, was also well received.

"You know right away when you're writing where the song will go," says Lennox about any problems caused by such dualities. "I might be writing something which I think is a Panda Bear track and it turns out it's better suited to Animal Collective. It depends on what's most pressing."

Adds Portner: "With Animal Collective, most of the songs had been written and played live and sorted out before we recorded. This time, we knew we wanted something different because that's what excites us. After the last two albums, we got a little tired of doing guitar-heavy stuff. Sure, there are guitars here, but they're more in the context of electronica rather than effects."

Getting away from preconceptions was important for Lennox in particular. "There's a limit to how much we're going to cater to an audience who think they know what we're about. Sure, some people loved Sung Tongs and some people loved Feels. For us, Strawberry Jam was about getting away from certain things like vocal harmonising that people always associated with us. It's the first record where all four of us are playing together, so it's very openended. Nobody really dominated what was happening. I think the melodies are a lot simpler."

If the band had a reference point going into the recording sessions, it was Revolver. "That album is really psychedelic, but it's also really bright and clear in terms of the production," marvels Portner. "We wanted an album where all the sounds and instruments were jumping out at you."

They hope Strawberry Jam will allow them to jettison any lingering Beach Boys comparisons.

"I do think getting away from the harmonies on this record has a lot to do with escaping those Beach Boys references," sighs Lennox, who also shouldered his share of Brian Wilson comparisons for his solo record. "I mean, we like some of the Beach Boys 1970s stuff, the weirder stuff, but those harmonies more often or not had more to do with the Andrew Sisters, choral groups, 1940s groups and doo-wop. I think it was just a lazy tagging: 'they're American and they do harmonies so, hey, it's the Beach Boys'."

This doesn't mean they've lost their edge, as Porter is at pains to point out. "Some people will hear the album and think we're doing a lot of songs with traditional arrangements. But aside from Peacebone, which is very verse-chorus-verse-chorus, the other tracks are full of screaming and shouting.

"A song like Chores is very simple but it's not very traditional. The songs are still weird."

Vinyl stand: return of the record?

David Portner describes Animal Collective's attention to detail on their packaging, artwork and especially vinyl releases (right) as "ultra nerdy", but they are not the only ones putting extra effort into their physical releases.

A vinyl renaissance appears to be under way, paradoxically driven by the digital music revolution.

Many indie bands who see download-driven distribution as a means of reaching the widest audience possible now also release a small number of vinyl singles or albums, to satisfy those die-hard fans who want to own an actual artefact.

For some large bands, it's a valuable promotional tool. Earlier this year, The White Stripes gained much media attention for giving away a vinyl single with an issue of the NME around the same time as their Icky Thump album went on release.

New York cosmic disco label Whatever We Want have built a buzz for their releases by way of ultra-limited-edition seven-inch and 12-inch records. While MP3s by some of their acts, such as Map Of Africa can be located online, the actual record, complete with highly detailed and collectible artwork, is the real prize for fans. Each release quickly sells out.

After all, as Animal Collective's Noah Lennox notes, vinyl has one distinct advantage over digital. "My memories from when I was younger are of getting a record and falling for that record and having that record with you down through the years. Records had personalities.

"Music on the internet is so much different because that personality isn't there. It feels really weird, and the music just doesn't seem real."