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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Sung Tongs
by Animal Collective


8.3

based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 41 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

MUSIC:

The Brooklyn-based collective (on this release, reduced to the duo of Avey Tare and Panda Bear) combine vocal harmonies, a pair of acoustic guitars, and diverse influences into a unique sound on this latest release.

LABEL:	Fat Cat
RELEASE DATE:	01 June 2004
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock

NOTES: UK release 3 May 2004.

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

Drowned In Sound

Stunning and dizzying, Sung Tongs’ strangeness will spin around your head for months to come.

100

Uncut

Rarely has contrived weirdness sounded so utterly bewitching. [Jun 2004, p.85]

Stylus Magazine

On Sung Tongs, the group has deftly combined all the traces that ran through their earlier work into a vibrant and beautiful collage that flows as smoothly as Here Comes the Indian, with all the mood of Campfire Songs, and even more pop hooks than Spirit.

PopMatters

Sung Tongs is an inch more sublime than anything they've done previously, with more phenomenal use of their manic choir of Motown vocals, less scattered, clique-ish dissonance, and more sideshow bubblegum-pop freaking out on god-knows-what powerful substance.

Logo

This is what you get when you give an overactive imagination the space to expand; it’s indescribably perfect.

Mojo

Melds way-out weird with a pop welcome that sounds like no one else around right now. [May 2004, p.105]

Delusions of Adequacy

A great album from a fantastic band.

Pitchfork

Despite its eclecticism and relatively Dadaist leanings, Sung Tongs is a romantic album; romantic in its celebration of innocence and nonsensical shared knowledge, and the sweet, trusted idea that everything will be fine-- as if it hadn't always been.

Filter

As simple as the instrumentation is on the album... they use it to maximum effect. [#11, p.98]

Almost Cool

Sung Tongs is 12 tracks and 52 minutes of the most bizarre and absolutely mind-bendingly infectious pop music that you'll hear this year.

Splendid

Sung Tongs resembles the freakiest of '60s psyche, the outward fringes of Elephant Six-dom, the craziest excesses of Tom Ze -- yet it is a warm, deeply human work that winds its way into your heart.

Tiny Mix Tapes

Holistically, there's nothing remarkably new here that hasn't been pursued before by this collective. The execution is nice and easily situates this album in the top two of their performances, and the sound quality far surpasses their previous efforts.

Junkmedia

But despite its flaws, or perhaps because of them, this remains organic folk-pop at its bewildering best.

Magnet

Consistently fantastic. [#64, p.80]

Alternative Press

Imagine a pagan Danielson Famile on magic mushrooms, or a folk-rock cLOUDDEAD. [Aug 2004, p.122]

All Music Guide

Although the duo didn't record nearly enough material to justify checking out quite so soon, Sung Tongs is a striking record, a breath of fresh air within experimentalist indie rock.

Dusted Magazine

While some may scoff at the gentler side of the Animal Collective (especially when contrasted with the fully electric assault of last year's studio release), Sung Tongs easily stands alone as a crowning achievement in their eclectic discography, one that finds the group fully in control of their musical prowess and all the better for it.

ShakingThrough.net

Before, it sounded like Animal Collective sought only to please themselves. Sung Tongs sounds like a concession to the rest of us, and that's not a very exciting prospect from such a unique and potentially great band.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Snatches of certain songs owe a debt to weird-period Brian Wilson, but Sung Tongs sounds too hermetic and comfortable in its singularity to cast such a literal gaze.

Neumu.net

By the time the longplayer finishes playing, you realize, whilst the acoustic guitars and harmonized vocals and that awesome table-tennis-ball-bouncing-beat may've made you think this was some easy-to-love pop platter, it actually hasn't stumbled all the way towards getting-it-together.

Rolling Stone

One of the more creative and accomplished records you'll hear this year. [19 Aug 2004, p.118]

The Wire

The best stuff views the world through the sunkissed psychedelic lens of Brazilian psych-troupe Os Mutantes; the lesser material just sounds like lite Brian Wilson. [#243, p.59]

Austin Chronicle

You can imagine a modern-day Syd Barrett coming up with similar ideas after being locked in a closet with a laptop.

The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 41 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Justin B. gave it a9:
This band goes from one end of the spectrum to other all within one album.

Eric C. gave it a9:
More accessible than their earlier stuff, not so much as Feels, which is why a lot of people prefer that album. But it further cements Animal Collective as the most talented and fun experimental band around. It can be hard to listen to at times, but hearing every trick Avey and Panda have up their sleeves is wild. The low scores show why they can't become very mainstream, but anyone who gives them the time to fully digest each song will become a diehard fan.

Giulia gave it a9:
To me, a record that can create the most charming atmospheres you can dream, natural and post modern, everything. It's wonderful.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Starts out great, but the second half kind of loses it, with the exception of "We Tigers". Still a great album, but get Feels. It's much better.

pookiebear s gave it a9:
To give this record a 2 shows utter contempt for good music. Not as good as Feels, but still an incredible, life-affirming record. Go get it.

Tony F gave it a10:
my favorite collective album, blew me away when i first heard it and still gets me going whenever I put it on. It's truly unique and a step forward for music experimentation.

Matt M gave it a10:
i played some of this to a kid i know that has autism/slight schizophrenic - i didnt even realize he was listening to it... and after the end of the one of the songs he startled me (not even knowing he was in the room) by saying, "this is some special stuff, i dont know what it is, but its too special for me." I'll never forget that and it makes me think about the underlying chaos and insanity underneath every obscured pop hook and the coos and yelps of wood sprites dancing deep in the forest, just barely audible.

Sung Tongs by Animal Collective

Sung Tongs
by Animal Collective