• Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Dec 15, 2009
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. 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.
  2. If Fall Be Kind is noticeably less hooky than "Merriweather Post Pavilion," it sounds just as ravishing, and offers an equally cohesive whole.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Given its fragmented genesis, it's surprising how listenable and of-a-piece Fall Be Kind is.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 70
    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.
  12. 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.
  13. Nothing on Fall Be Kind sounds like b-side fodder, and one song, “What Would I Want? Sky”, is already canon bound.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Released at the end of a smashingly successful year, Fall Be Kind is a worthy epilogue to an all-time classic.
  17. Under The Radar
    80
    The new EP contains some of their strongest material to date. [Holiday 2009, p.82]
  18. 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.
  19. Filter
    86
    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]
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 161 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 37 out of 161
  1. MikeM.
    Feb 2, 2010
    10
    Those complaining about this album's fallacies are those with a past bias for animal collective. note all ratings under 5 proclaiming 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. Full Review »
  2. GeoffreyG
    Dec 19, 2009
    9
    Continues Animal Collectives trend of making absolutely gorgeous and unendingly interesting music. What Would I Want? Sky is an amazing song, Continues Animal Collectives trend of making absolutely gorgeous and unendingly interesting music. What Would I Want? Sky is an amazing song, and Graze and I Think I Can are also awesome. Bleed and On A Highway drone on, but never get boring. Great EP. Full Review »
  3. Sep 1, 2012
    10
    this for me is the best body of work theyve ever done, so open and exciting and bonkers and brilliant. couple of darker tracks. it soundsthis for me is the best body of work theyve ever done, so open and exciting and bonkers and brilliant. couple of darker tracks. it sounds better than merriweather which for me was quite screechy in parts. Full Review »