Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
by Akron/Family
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Uncut
    60
    On the fifth album this East Coast trio make it patently clear this is not the same band whose 2005 debut placed them in the rustic shadow of former Young God Records labelmate Devendra Banhart. [Jun 2009, p.83]
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  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    50
    I doubt they’ll be circling back to the sound I felt so strongly about, but even the mildly frustrating Set ‘Em Wild, like all the band’s records, has songs I’ll be listening to for years to come.
  3. Paste Magazine
    50
    What emerges from Set ’em Wild, Set ’em Free is the realization that Akron/Family is maddeningly unknowable and, essentially, a product of all these influences rolled up into one gigantic, take-it-or-leave-it stringball.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. TJ
    Aug 3, 2009
    9
    While it bored me at times, I believe this is one of their best. Gravelly Mountains of the Moon is a sublime track.
  2. VaughnA.
    May 27, 2009
    4
    These guys reek of the same kind of, "oh don't you just love what we're doing", bullshit that makes me despise Conor Oberst so These guys reek of the same kind of, "oh don't you just love what we're doing", bullshit that makes me despise Conor Oberst so much. If I want self-adoration I'll go to Bare Naked Ladies concert.… Full Review »
  3. ChristianP.
    May 6, 2009
    9
    one of the best of the year. they've grown immensely.
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