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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Feed The Animals
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 15 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Illegal Art
Release Date: 23 September 2008
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Electronic
Summary
The fourth album for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, artist is made from samples from a diverse palette of artists, including Jay-Z, Britney Spears, The Velvet Underground, Roy Orbison, Megadeth, UGK, and The Cure.
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
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...
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
Gregg Gillis has plenty to say about music. What he has to say about life, which is that "I'd Rather" equals "Gimme Some Lovin'," remains more limited. Nevertheless, sequences here give me hope.
Read Full Review >Sputnikmusic
Feed the Animals, despite its tentative start, is chocked full of the same bombastic booty-shaking moments that defined "Night Ripper."
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Gillis' sense of sonic proportion gives the whole mix a curvaceousness that make even the most unnatural tandems seem perfectly logical.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
If you've heard any of his previous work (including the fairly recent Night Ripper), you know the modus operandi for Girl Talk, but Feed The Animals is even on another level in terms of sheer density. Because of this, just about everyone who hears it will have different favorite moments that stick out to them, and that's part of the beauty.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
Animals is a raucous and hugely entertaining effort that doubles as a virtual "Name That Tune" game. [Nov 2008, p.164]
Urb
Most of the time listening to anything that's on the Hot 100 is considered a guilty pleasure. Music for females, not fanboys. But thanks to Girl Talk, Feed the Animals makes the feeling less filthy—thus the embarrassment is less painful.
Read Full Review >Blender
A DJ is only as good as his taste, and Girl Talk is immaculate. [Sept 2008, p.78]
Pitchfork
Feed the Animals helps to solidify Gillis' role as the supreme 80s-baby pop synthesizer.
Read Full Review >Slant Magazine
Feed the Animals, while perhaps not as fresh as "Night Ripper," is a sweaty, neon-lit, seizure inducing, off-the-wall, utter delight.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
His latest musical highlight reel is dense with rib-nudging gags and indelible moments.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Feed the Animals is a wonderful achievement, but don’t take my pseudo-intellectual pontification as proof of anything, go listen to it yourself.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe
Some couplings are brilliant.... Too often, though, the sheer familiarity of Girl Talk's building blocks detracts from his particular accomplishment.
Read Full Review >Spin
Trading in easy recognition/gratification, the barrage grows as dizzyingly nostalgic as Oz's tornado. [Sep 2008, p.116]
Read Full Review >RapReviews.com
While the tracks never reach and identity outside their own samples Greg does breath fresh new life into them and make things you've probably heard a thousand times, exciting again.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
Gillis finds his inspiration in just that, celebrating the mixed messages, the stupidity, the sensuality, the sheer schizophrenia, and echoing them back to us like a machine gun of instant nostalgia. And you can dance to it. [Fall 2008, p.81]
Austin Chronicle
Doling out more free samples than Sam's Club on Sundays, Girl Talk's copyright-challenging fourth LP cuts and pastes more than 300 song snippets into a seamless but fervently paced 54-minute aural collage of club bangers that's every bit as enticing as his 2006 career-defining opus, "Night Ripper," though it sounds more like a companion piece than a fresh body of work.
Read Full Review >Tiny Mix Tapes
Aside from these conceptual assertions that it evokes, Feed the Animals is a good record. Though it’s broken up into 14 tracks, it functions best (and as Girl Talk intends) as a single 53-minute mash-up.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Feed The Animals isn’t much of anything at all. It’s just another clip show of all your favorite records.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Sadly, Feed The Animals blends commercial US rap with rock classics with so little charm or skll, that even Jive Bunny is slightly annoyed you've used his name in vain. [Nov 2008, p.96]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Peter F. gave it a9:
Feed the Animals is Mashup taken to the next level. Gill's has the amazing talent to combine obscure or polar opposite tracks and make them sound good together. It makes you think what made him think that those two songs would go good together... Such as Black Street's "No Diggity" on the beat of "Flashing Lights" sounds better than Kanye could do it himself. Overall a great album to put on at a party; it'll turn a dull party into quite the lively one!
Jah W. gave it a10:
Immaculate blend. The term mash-up does this genre a disservice - nothing is mashed at all. One of my all-time faves - and SO ACCESSIBLE.
Paul H. gave it an8:
Gills' first couple albums were terribly schizophrenic and often far to abrasive to dance to. With this album, Girl Talk takes that slapdash hodgepodge and give's it character and identity. For music lovers who grew up in the 80's 90's and 00's love this album. If you are looking for IDM go elsewhere...this is strictly laptronica for people with short attention spans, like me! Go gillis.
Scott W. gave it a10:
If this sounds like something you might like, snap it up right away. It's an endlessly entertaining party starter of an album. It's hard to explain how well this stuff works, you have to hear it for yourself.
Nick P. gave it a10:
I can appreciate why people don't like this album, but I can tell you now, that nothing that's been released in recent time has made me smile and be as nostalgic as this album has. The combination of old and new, mixed over with such care, love an attention is awesome. In fact, this makes me want to listen to it again :)
Stu gave it a3:
If rapping over "come on Eileen" and other errr 'poppy' tunes is your thing, then this is the album for you. Not for me though, I think it's plain rubbish.
Bright E. gave it a9:
Takes genuine art to produce something which should be so cheesy, into something which goes alongside bon iver on my year's best albums list. great stuff. high volume. the lack of a 10 is only because they didn't mix .... oh I'm boring myself.
