Fall Be Kind

Fall Be Kind is the fourth EP by American experimental pop band Animal Collective. It was released digitally in MP3 and WAV formats on November 23, 2009, and as both a CD and LP in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2009, and in the United States on December 15, 2009. Some stores in Australia and New Zealand began selling it more than a week earlier, due to the band's touring presence there at the time.

Fall Be Kind
EP by Animal Collective
Released	November 23, 2009
Recorded	February 2008 – August 2009
Studio	Sweet Tea (Oxford, Mississippi) Mission Sound (Brooklyn, New York)
Length	27:23
Label	Domino
Producer	Ben H. Allen
Animal Collective chronology
Animal Crack Box (2009) Fall Be Kind (2009) Oddsac (2010)

On November 18, 2009, Domino Records accidentally sent pre-ordered CDs of Fall Be Kind to customers before the actual release date, resulting in a lossless digital version leaking, in its entirety, onto the internet.

Recorded by Ben H. Allen at Sweet Tea in Oxford in February 2008 and at Mission Sound in Brooklyn in August 2009, Fall Be Kind includes live favorites "Graze" and "What Would I Want? Sky". The latter track contains a sample of "Unbroken Chain" by the Grateful Dead, the first ever licensed sample of a Grateful Dead recording.^[1] The cover depicts a statue photographed through a brown paper bag attached to the camera lens.^{[citation needed]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.6/10[2]
Metacritic	84/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	A[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A[6]
Financial Times	[7]
The Independent	[8]
Los Angeles Times	[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Pitchfork	8.9/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Spin	7/10[13]

Fall Be Kind was met with generally favorable reviews by critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 84, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[3] Lewis P. from Sputnikmusic claimed "it had the impossible task of following up one of the most hyped albums of this decade and yet it barely breaks a sweat." He went on to give a perfect rating.^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Graze"	5:23
2.	"What Would I Want? Sky"	6:46
3.	"Bleed"	3:28
4.	"On a Highway"	4:36
5.	"I Think I Can"	7:10
Total length:		27:23

Sample credits^[15]

• "Graze" incorporates elements of "Ardeleana", arranged and performed by Gheorghe Zamfir.
• "What Would I Want? Sky" features samples of "Unbroken Chain", written by Phil Lesh and Robert Petersen and performed by the Grateful Dead.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[15]

Animal Collective

• Avey Tare
• Geologist
• Panda Bear

Additional personnel

• Ben Allen – mixing, recording
• Animal Collective – mixing
• Rob Carmichael – design and layout
• Aaron Ersoy – recording assistance
• Andy Marcinkowski – recording assistance
• Heather McIntosh – cello on "Graze" and "Bleed"