on 2009-12-07 dscanland Said:

I hear ya, Aloha. I can't understand the extreme love for Animal Collective. They are the new Radiohead, a complex band that (according to their fans) can do no wrong. I enjoy their music but not to the extent of giving each album a perfect score. I haven't heard Fall Be Kind yet. I've downloaded it but haven't listened yet. I enjoyed Merriweather but please, not album of the year by far. I do have to give these guys credit though, they go against the grain and are being rewarded for it.
Not Rated

on 2009-12-06 mountaloha Said:

Maybe I just don't get it, but this just sounds like noise to me. I was a fan of some Animal Collective, but their past 3 efforts have fallen short in my opinion, yet every music website praises them like they are the best band of the past decade. Maybe someone can tell me what I'm missing.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2009-12-03 JSargent Said:

The first song on Animal Collective's newest release, Fall Be Kind is "Graze". This song brings in a relatively simple structure mixed with swirling electronic sounds and Avey Tare's voice almost inviting you to come into this musical journey. About half way through the song, the tempo switches up and it ends up with a sampled flute loop and Panda Bear's thick melodic vocals coming in to fill the bridges. While the flute loop is a little unexpected, I feel like it fits the song perfectly and adds a new dimension to the swirling goodness of this song.

The album now flows into "What Would I Want? Sky", arguably the most accessible and poppy song Animal Collective has ever recorded, and that's not a bad thing. This song is easily my favourite song on the album and features the much talked about, first ever licensed Grateful Dead sample from their song "Unbroken Chain". This song starts off as a sort of droning instrumental piece with some heavy bass and percussion hits, but then the song slightly changes and it's off to the races with the Grateful Dead sample. It turns into an upbeat, almost happy song, which goes against what Avey Tare had originally said about this being a "darker collection of songs" (Pitchfork Media, Oct. 9). The mixture of Avey and Panda's voice, along with the Grateful Dead sample, in almost perfect harmony flows incredibly naturally for the remainder of the song.

The next two songs on the album are "Bleed"and "On a Highway". Both of these tracks are very dreamy and seemingly reflective, it seems this is where the darker part of this album kicks in. "Bleed" has a real droning sound and style to it, with Panda having somewhat distorted vocals providing backup to Avey's pensive sounding voice. The song never really develops into anything and feels more like one of their older tracks, but it is still a solid song for an interlude between the two halves of the album. "On a Highway" is sort of a lonely sounding song, possibly about being on tour for long amounts of time. This song also has a real droning and dark feel to it, the lyrics and music sound almost as if they are lost in thought. "On a Highway" serves as a nice progression into darker themed music for Animal Collective on this album.

The album next has Panda Bear singing lead vocals for the final song, "I Think I Can", keeping the sort of dreamy aspect of the last two songs while adding a much larger instrumentation with a claustrophobic mixture of sounds. The song sort of reminds me of Panda Bear's solo album Person Pitch, mainly in the way the sounds and vocals mix, but once again this isn't a bad thing as it still fits perfectly with Animal Collective's sound, especially on this album.

The album clocks in at around 27 minutes, and as "I Think I Can" fades out you are tempted to start listening to the whole album over and over again, which serves it well, as like most Animal Collective releases it continues to sound better each time you hear it. Overall I feel that Animal Collective have not missed a beat since releasing Merriweather Post Pavilion and have yet again released something that both impresses and amazes me. If you are a fan of Animal Collective's other releases you will enjoy this album, and even if you are just starting to get into this type of music I would recommend listening to this album in the near future.

Graze: 9.5/10

What Would I Want? Sky: 10/10

Bleed: 8.5/10

On a Highway: 8.5/10

I Think I Can: 10/10

Overall: 10/10


Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2009-11-25 mashkin Said:

We had seen fireworks 11 months ago in the Indie Music scene as Animal Collective unleashed their best effort to date. That thing was called "Merriweather Post Pavillion". Now they released this amazing little EP to have some dessert and how a delicious of a delight this is.

The EP is called "Fall Be Kind" which is out now digitally and will be released the 15th of December this year via Domino Records. It contains five tracks which is quite a demanding listen with its long tracks but if you do then you will hear brilliance.

"What Would I Want Sky?" is the second track of the EP and it is one of the best things that ever happened in music this year. I mean, they play it in like a very strange time signature and tempo and when you hear it you won't really know when to nod your head and it feels Psychedelic. The song samples "Unbroken Chain" by "The Grateful Dead" and it is more than quite a ride. AC has the property of brilliance and excellency throughout the EP so you really need to listen.

This is the greatest EP that has been made this year. And this piece of recording sound has never been uttered in the history of music and maybe mankind itself.
Rating: 10/10