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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Dead Oceans
Release Date: 05 May 2009
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Experimental, Indie
Summary
This is the first album for the trio since Ryan Vanderhoof left the band in the fall of 2007.
Also By This Artist: Akron/Family Love Is Simple Meek Warrior
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
PopMatters
Both "Meek Warrior" and "Love Is Simple" are strong albums, but there’s a sense of unfulfillment in them--Akron/Family seems to be testing itself in new areas rather than completing a task. On new album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, though, that changes, as the band delivers a masterpiece.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
On their fourth album, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, they've simultaneously intensified and refined that blend, even as they've shaved off one of their original four members.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
In the Akron/Family universe, disorder is part of the order, and Set ’Em Wild advances that yin-yang philosophy through music that binds disparate genres through an expansive imagination and force of will.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Seemingly undaunted, Seth Olinsky, Miles Seaton, and Dana Janssen recruited engineer and co-producer Chris Koltay, and enlisted nine other musicians to create the most far-reaching, margin-breaking set of the band's career to date.
Read Full Review >NOW Magazine
Mood-wise, there’s less of the unhinged joy of their last outing, "Love Is Simple." However, those moments of ecstasy have more power in smaller doses, and making that choice has allowed them to expand their palette while retaining their identity.
Read Full Review >Hartford Courant
This album veers all over the place, but it's united by spotless production, eerie control and a confidence that's well deserved.
Read Full Review >The New York Times
On Set ’Em Wild, Set ’Em Free, the band has produced something practical, with less clutter, and many times better.
Read Full Review >Sputnikmusic
Despite all of these positives, and no real negatives to be found, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free isn’t quite a perfect work--it’s much too clunky, much too unorganized to be considered as such--but it’s a considerable record, one that’s sure to remain a highlight of this decade’s final chapter and afterwards.
Read Full Review >Mojo
The end result just about captures the riotous, magical bustle of their live shows, so seek it out. [Jun 2009, p.101]
Q Magazine
Seriously good stuff. [Jun 20009, p.134]
Under The Radar
The trio's first steps are unquestionably firm. [Spring 2009, p.64]
Lost At Sea
Even though the album may be too erratic to cohere into anything thematic, its eccentricities do an excellent job of keeping it interesting.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Akron/Family are in a state of constant flux, ever changing, so Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free strikes me as no great sea change (no more than usual, anyway). It’s just the latest iteration of a band that’s never twice the same.
Read Full Review >The Phoenix
This is the work of artists confident enough to embrace a sound that makes them happy.
Read Full Review >Dusted Magazine
Set ‘Em Wild, more so than many albums like this, at least has the quasi-coherence of forming out of the above-mentioned process, and if anything, that makes it more interesting than just a collection a songs.
Read Full Review >Billboard
The group stays true to its avant-garde musical roots with Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, the noisier, louder follow-up to 2007's "Love Is Simple."
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
Fans of Animal Collective will be familiar with the expressive freak-out moments here, but Akron/Family are secretly far more at home nestled somewhere between Fleet Foxes and Led Zep in your collection.
Read Full Review >Filter
The trio's skronky bits and folksy mannerisms are in place, often found competing within the confines of a single song. [Spring 2009, p.96]
Spin
Here they expand their primarily folky sound, importing rhythms from abroad and morphing electronic ticks and stutters into a field of chirping crickets.
Read Full Review >Blender
This album takes major steps beyond its predecessor, "Love Is Simple." It adds a streak of joyful African funk, with sputtery rhythms and guitar curlicues.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
It’s a bold album, even in its prettiest, most pastoral moments.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
The band's now-routine gospel-like chanting grows tiresome by album end (they miss Vanderhoof's vocals), and, as was expected, Set ‘Em Wild doesn't necessarily expand the band's sound so much as further splinter their interest.
Read Full Review >Uncut
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]
Tiny Mix Tapes
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.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
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.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
TJ gave it a9:
While it bored me at times, I believe this is one of their best. Gravelly Mountains of the Moon is a sublime track.
Vaughn A. gave it a4:
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.
Christian P. gave it a9:
one of the best of the year. they've grown immensely.
