Tangerine Reef is the product of longtime collaborations between Animal Collective and Coral Morphologic, an art-science duo consisting of marine biologist Colin Foord and musician J.D.

[3] The members of Animal Collective were impressed by the footage and reached out, leading to several collaborations, such as Geologist soundtracking Coral Morphologic's 2011 short film Man o War, and Foord providing spoken word on Avey Tare's solo album Eucalyptus.

gave the album a mixed review, saying, "For fans of Animal Collective's trippier inclinations, Tangerine Reef is a pleasant bit of oceanic escapism.

But Tangerine Reef is an incomplete object in this form: It's accompaniment, not feature presentation, the drowsy soundtrack to the iridescent undersea visuals of Australian filmmakers Coral Morphologic.

"[16] PopMatters critic Chris Ingalls stated, "Tangerine Reef is a project that may likely polarize Animal Collective fans, and it may not be an ideal jumping-off point for anyone looking to discover this unique band, but it's a worthy addition to their catalog, and it supports a supremely important cause in this day and age.

"[22] Pitchfork's Sasha Geffen wrote, "Without Panda Bear on board, Animal Collective lose the pop edge that has resulted in their most commercially successful music, but this isn't a project for scoring hits.

"[21] Emily Mackay of The Observer criticized the album, saying "AC plumb depths of paucity more than subtlety in this wilfully desolate expanse of dispassionate vocals and vague, awkward ambience.