- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Aug 29, 2012When the band puts their best foot forward ("Monkey Riches," "Father Time," "Applesauce," "Mercury Man," and "Pulleys,") they sound like an outfit deserving of all the hype and praise bestowed upon them.
-
Sep 4, 2012There's a higher percent of anxiety and queasiness mixed in amid the moments of pop bliss, and though fans of the glassy perfection of MPP may be initially disappointed, Centipede Hz sounds like another logical step in the band's evolution.
-
Sep 4, 2012Centipede Hz stretches them out of their traditional organic structures and into a slightly unknown world.
-
Aug 29, 2012Submit fully to Centipede Hz and it will infect you, quite deliciously, for the foreseeable.
-
Sep 4, 2012Centipede Hz is dense and unforgivingly full-throttle--you'll find no "Loch Raven" or even "Chores" here – and home to some of the band's best and most involved lyrics to date.
-
Sep 4, 2012Those who decried the last album's lack of spontaneity will be satisfied with Centipede Hz, but it hits hardest when the guys lock into something that works.
-
Sep 4, 2012Centepede Hz is somehow both futuristically innovative and welcomingly accessible. Amid the obscurantism caused by white noise and radio interference are strong choruses likely to get any form of life dancing.
-
Sep 4, 2012Oddly enough, the most striking part of the record may be the transitions.
-
Aug 31, 2012Their latest album may not be quite as viscerally dark as that record's production (the haunted house bridge on "Mercury Man" hits closest), but Tare's solo claustrophobic musings still seem to be just as intrinsic.
-
Nov 15, 2012Each song is impactful and memorable, with a fantastic approach to songcraft that focuses on minimal gestures, mixed with tremendous layers and layers of sounds.
-
Aug 31, 2012Experimental, psychedelic, mad, and oddly, very listenable pop music.
-
Sep 4, 2012It's jolly and kinetic and greater than the sum of its songs.
-
Sep 4, 2012It takes time to acclimate to the album's frenetic fog. In that sense, Centipede Hz is both a return to and rejection of form.
-
Entertainment WeeklySep 6, 2012The band's manic creativity can still dazzle. [7 Sep 2012, p.75]
-
Sep 4, 2012Nine albums into their career, Animal Collective continue to deliver records far ahead of their time.
-
Sep 5, 2012As usual, though, the group are at their best when trying to come to terms with grace and beauty.
-
Sep 4, 2012Recording together in a room (as opposed to assembling songs online) for the first time in years, Animal Collective also reengaged the primal aggression of its early work.
-
MagnetSep 26, 2012Although the quartet might not have topped Merriweather Post Pavillion, it did the next best thing: make an album that's entirely new and just as exciting. [No.91 p.52]
-
MojoSep 19, 2012In reconnecting with the guileless, tribal chaos of their roots, Animal Collective have made another delirious and ecstatic step forward. [Oct 2012, p.87]
-
Aug 28, 2012It's chaotic and confounding. It will frustrate as much as it delights. And no, not everything they throw at the wall manages to stick. But my, what a lovely mess they've made.
-
Sep 4, 2012With just a bit more of a push, Centipede Hz could have been something truly special, but as it stands, it's a portrait of growing up that is wonderfully vivid but a tad unfulfilling, a collection of tracks boasting some remarkable tunes and a complex theme, and an album that is bound to satisfy both hardcore and casual fans.
-
Sep 4, 2012With Centipede Hz, Animal Collective have delivered a cluttered, abrasive album that confirms their naysayers' exaggerated perceptions of the band. But even a patchy Animal Collective album yields several exceptional songs.
-
Sep 4, 2012All in all, Centipede Hz is an album that'll get a hold on you as all its arms grab on and don't let go.
-
Q MagazineSep 6, 2012It's intoxicating listening that demands repeated attention. [Oct 2012, p.102]
-
Aug 28, 2012What gives Centipede Hz its relatable gravity is that, this time out, Animal Collective sound more like creatures who put their skinny jeans on one hoof at a time.
-
Sep 5, 2012If it's not yet clear, Centipede does retain much of the band's earnest, knowing naiveté.
-
Dec 19, 2012Listening to Centipede is like going through a garage filled with clutter.
-
Sep 10, 2012Centipede HZ is a reaffirmation. It reminds us that Animal Collective plays interactive, now and forever.
-
Aug 28, 2012It's perhaps overly long (53 minutes) and hard to penetrate, but Animal Collective's creativity glows brighter than Ric Flair's hair.
-
Sep 4, 2012Simultaneously the most and the least pop record of the autumn.
-
The WireOct 3, 2012Despite their pop savvy, it's a surprisingly difficult listen. [Sep 2012, p.57]
-
Sep 4, 2012Centipede Hz feels celebratory.
-
Sep 11, 2012Centipede Hz is an album that both gazes up into the cosmos, and stares down into the dirt--and perhaps that's not so weird.
-
Under The RadarAug 28, 2012A magical album that takes the listener on a wondrous journey into a party where love is found, lost, and ultimately sublimated into an unsurpassable catharsis. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.108]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 97 out of 118
-
Mixed: 14 out of 118
-
Negative: 7 out of 118
-
Sep 8, 2012
-
Sep 7, 2012
-
Sep 5, 2012