All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Sputnikmusic

As a collection of songs, each one ranks among the band’s best; as an album, it is a swift, personal and evocative statement from a band who has risen to fame by being one of the more mystifying and challenging modern bands to comply to pop structures, and it is all in the details.

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100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Released at the end of a smashingly successful year, Fall Be Kind is a worthy epilogue to an all-time classic.

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Sputnikmusic

This is Animal Collective at their finest folks, inviting everyone in to see them at their peak and loving the freedom that comes with being on top of the world.

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All Music Guide

All told, though, as we crawl to the end of this Year Of The Animal Collective, this release can certainly be said to have further elevated their status.

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New Musical Express (NME)

Stripped of all the sonic flotsam that usually surrounds them, Animal Collective come into their own--if you can ignore the chatter to listen with innocent ears, they surpass ‘good’ and remain bewildering.

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Pitchfork

Given its fragmented genesis, it's surprising how listenable and of-a-piece Fall Be Kind is.

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Filter

The resulting album comes across, for the most part, as a peaceful, relaxing--if extremely weird--trip through a newfound musical slipstream. [Holiday 2009, p. 98]

NOW Magazine

The band’s trademark solemnity and repetitive downtempo styles prevail in the final three tracks, making you feel like you’re treading in a swimming pool of honey--in a good way.

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Alternative Press

Far from the emperor with no summertime clothes, the five songs on Fall Be Kind--a mixture of holdovers from the MPP sessions and new material recorded this year--retain the electronics, but add some samples and head in a darker thematic direction.

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cokemachineglow

Fall Be Kind doesn’t exactly break past the barriers set by this year’s "Merriweather Post Pavilion," but it is an excellent extension of the ethos captured by that particular record.

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Drowned In Sound

If Fall Be Kind is noticeably less hooky than "Merriweather Post Pavilion," it sounds just as ravishing, and offers an equally cohesive whole.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

Fall Be Kind is yet another reason why Animal Collective TOTALLY TRANSCEND any notion of hipster hype-ism, another feather in a crowded cap. God bless these guys.

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Under The Radar

The new EP contains some of their strongest material to date. [Holiday 2009, p.82]

PopMatters

Nothing on Fall Be Kind sounds like b-side fodder, and one song, “What Would I Want? Sky”, is already canon bound.

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Los Angeles Times

There's not a cut here that will make anyone think differently about the Baltimore-born outfit but it's a worthy addition to their catalog.

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Dusted Magazine

Fall Be Kind really mines the depths of the b-bin: musical theater + jam band + Putumayo. Liking it feels goofy, even though it’s pretty good.

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Spin

Last year's Merriweather Post Pavilion, SPIN's 2009 Album of the Year, forwent such formlessness, but the haze returns on this five-track EP. Fortunately, Merriweather's hummable, techno-indebted delirium also returns.

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No Ripcord

Fall Be Kind shows the band on the path to becoming an even mellower band and nothing here is exceptionally energetic except for the last half of Graze.

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Prefix Magazine

The major criticism of Animal Collective has been the band's proclivity to bewilder listeners more than give them the pop songs they want. It's difficult to criticize Merriweather on those terms, but it applies a lot more to Fall Be Kind. What's worse, that bewilderment prevents Fall Be Kind from being what the best Animal Collective releases always are: fun.

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Rolling Stone

At their best, Animal Collective combine shapely pop hooks with mind-broadening sonic freakery. At their worst, the sonic freakery is mind-numbing. Like most of their work, this five-song EP contains all of the above.

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Slant Magazine

Thus, when not overextending the disappointing, unfinished musical projects on Fall Be Kind's, the Collective are busy beating their promising ideas into monotony.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 5.7 (out of 10) based on 96 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mike M. gave it a10:
Those complaining about this album's fallacies are those with a past bias for animal collective. note all ratings under 5 proclaiming them the "most overrated" band in the world. this has nothing to do with the music, so get your facts straight. this is a charming, addictive, and ultimately successful album that does not waste one moment.

the king is back gave it a10:
Hey Dustin C and J T, you can put your Metallica or DMB or whatever away, we are trying to move past that trite stuff. Call me a hipster or whatever, music is about evolution and these guys make the case in spades.

J M gave it a10:
It seems that people really miss the point in music when it becomes hyped. This is a beautiful record and I dare you to name a more lovely song than What Would I Want? Sky that was released last year.

Carl W. gave it a1:
Not good. Loved Merriweather, but this sounded like a lazy, sloppy collection of B sides.

N T gave it a10:
Anyone who said this album sucks is either A) a jealous, unaccomplished, wannabe indie rockstar who is jealous of their abilities as songwriters and musicians or B) has no taste in music and didnt listen to the lyrics. This is an excellent pop album and an excellent an example of honest, heartfelt songwriting.

J T gave it a2:
I always try to be fair and balanced when I write an album review... so here it goes: "Fall Be Kind" is another lackluster release from the world's most current overrated band. All the songs come off as background music for car commercials. But, if you were a fan of 'Merriweather' (and if you are, I pity your taste in music) you may find some tunes on here worth listening to.

Isabella W. gave it a1:
The album was absolutely terrible. I found it was a big waste of time to sit and listen to it.

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