The New York based psychedelic, indie-rock quartet known as Animal Collective have been steadily building their fan base since they formed at the beginning of the decade.

First playing an arty combination of folk and noise, the group didn’t start to turn heads until 2004, with their acoustic guitar, campfire-freak-out album, “Sung Tongs.”

The following year, they released a more fleshed out effort called “Feels,” which sounded like the Beach Boys if Brian Wilson had decided to go tribal, melding together polyrhythmic drums and ecstatic shouting with soaring vocal harmonies.

Now they’ve come out with their seventh album overall, entitled “Strawberry Jam,” and it is not only one of the year’s best; it also further solidifies Animal Collective’s stance as one of the most creative and innovative bands of the decade.

On this album, the group has traded in their guitars for electronics and samplers. This switch in instrumentation may lack the organic feel of their previous albums, but the group makes up for it with the energy of children playing with their Christmas presents.

Take the album’s first single and lead-off track, “Peacebone,” which starts with a spastic mess of keyboard noise that slows down to reveal a sugar-high pop song that sounds like it’s coming from a strange carnival.

Yet, the weird arrangements of their music would mean nothing if it wasn’t for the melodies that the band’s two singers Dave Portner and Noah Lennox (who record under the stage names Avey Tare and Panda Bear, respectively), craft over them.

In comparison with the rest of their discography, Strawberry’s Jam greatest accomplishment is that it pushes their inventive and catchy melodies higher in the mix.

“Peacebone,” succeeds as much as it does because of Avey Tare’s octave jumping vocal performance as well as the bouncy music underneath.

On Panda Bear’s songs, like “Chores,” and “Derek,” he contrasts his bandmate’s vocal acrobatics with his warm sounding tone, which sounds as much in place in the context of the band’s work as it did on his extraordinary solo album, Person Pitch, released earlier this year.

Perhaps the best song on the album to exemplify the group’s overall talent is “For Reverend Green.” As one of the album’s more raucous sounding songs, with its abrasive guitars, 7/4 timing and Avey Tare’s own rhythmic screaming, it never wavers away from its excellent melodic foundation.

It’s hard for me to decide which of the three last albums I like the best, but it is clear that Strawberry Jam is the band’s most accessible. By beefing up the vocal melodies, the songs sound more muscular.

The album lacks many of the ambient, slow-building moments on previous records in place of pure, ecstatic and emotional pop.

Even though it was released the same day at Kanye West’s, 50 Cent’s, and Kenny Chesney’s latest albums, it would be incredibly naïve to predict this album will make a huge dent on the Billboard charts. In fact, I am sure the band is too weird for many listeners.

That being said, “Strawberry Jam” has the potential to bring the band even more fans, including those who admired them from a distance and those who may have never even heard music like this before.