We don’t mean to seem like we care about trivial things/Like our website hits…

[Video][Website]
[4.67]

Brad Shoup: The cheeky harmonies of Rubber Soul-era Beatles, the psychedelic smash-and-grab of Big Beat, the easy resolution of a kids’ show theme, and the density of a Disco Inferno production. Only, y’know… written for thumbsuckers.
[6]

Kat Stevens: At the time of writing the BBC have decided to move all (or at least most) children’s programming to dedicated digital channels (which everyone in the UK is now forced to have anyway), meaning that students will have to switch over if they want to catch both Horrible Histories AND Pointless. This also means that long running magazine programme Blue Peter won’t be shown on BBC1, and neither will its latest evolution of the theme tune, as remixed here by Animal Collective. A NATION MOURNS. (Until they can find the remote down the back of the sofa.)
[2]

Jonathan Bradley: Hey, isn’t it neat how the opening few seconds sound like a Looney Tunes cartoon played by a broken VCR? Actually, all appeal in “Honeycomb” — and there is some — comes from the tune’s bright cartoonish bounce. On the other hand, burying the melody in a mumble doesn’t make it more rewarding when you finally disinter it. That might have worked for a song like “Grass,” but “Honeycomb” has a tune that, when all the dirt is brushed away, is revealed to be merely aimless. This is, essentially, the problem with Animal Collective: a band this inconsistent can’t afford to be so difficult to enjoy.
[5]

Anthony Easton: This is carefully constructed, layers itself into a kind of explicit scaffolding, and functions as more sculpture than collage. That the construction noise, cars driving by in the street, and the phone going off, are absorbed into the context of this song, and not erased by the song being louder seems kind of important. This is the text that might convince me to like Animal Collective. Which is a miracle.
[9]

Jamieson Cox: I wasn’t expecting Merriweather Post Pavilion 2: Electric Boogaloo. Stagnation isn’t in Animal Collective’s DNA; the band’s guiding principle, if such a thing exists, is an endless drive for change. (Perhaps it’s more likely that no such principle exists. “The only rule: there are no rules.“) The next move is to digest their newest offering and search for clues. How did we get here? “Honeycomb” seems equally rooted in the tangy, sharp sounds of Strawberry Jam and the jolly clutter of “Graze” from the Fall Be Kind EP. That’s an important word, “rooted,” and an indication of a definite break between this song and MPP. Those songs felt astrally-minded, made for stargazing: at times, they seemed to float an inch or two in the air, weightless. “Honeycomb” is different. It implores you to jump around, but it doesn’t let you forget the crunch of the ground beneath your feet. I want to hear more. 
[7]

Jer Fairall: I can almost appreciate the sheer hysteria of the vocals, or at least I might had they placed in a punk-rock or even dance-pop context. Something, anyway, that can lend a sense of normalcy or gravity for the vocal to fight against, rather than the whole thing sounding like an unhinged mess. There’s no tension here, no joy, no potential for surprise, just a bunch of self-satisfied assholes trying to shove pop through a funhouse mirror and coming up with something much closer to that awful spinning carnival ride where the floor drops out from under your feet while your pinned to the wall and you eventually throw up cotton candy all over yourself.
[2]

Iain Mew: Intricate, repetitive in structure, a bit unfathomable and filled with little annoying things which make a lot of noise. The hive theme is apt, at least.
[4]

Alfred Soto: The shambolic percussion/synth opening evokes Stereolab, an important if futile reminder that for all their dinkiness the French act create well-lit spaces in which they can test the possibilities of their grooves. But these post-kids use the opportunity to cram as many syllables as possible into the tightest of corners. The results are nonsense in its most literal form: no sense.  
[3]

Jonathan Bogart: I like weird sounds, and I like choral togetherness, and I like (or can be persuaded to like) childlike wonder. Why, then, have I not only never cared about Animal Collective, I’ve never made it through an entire song before? I think it’s because above everything else I like rhythm. Syncopate or GTFO.
[4]