Stepping back a bit, I couldn't agree more. That interface is basically the definition of the word cluttered 😂. It's true!
Of course, if you talk generally there's going be all sort of opinion on how an interface should be. But wouldn't you agree that if all these opinions would be prototyped and user-tested against their ability to let the user find a pre-determined "thing" (an abstract idea, a specific sentence, a specific picture, or a whole note) in their notes as successfully and as quickly as possible, they would all perform differently?
Of course to test, you have to build prototypes and whatnot, let's say we don't really have the time right now. So above I've tried to provide a bit of a deductive framework to sort of judge ahead of testing how such a "search your notes" system would perform.
Would it be possible to translate your argument -the clutteredness, the aggressiveness- to the terms of this framework? Or point out where the framework is wrong? In other words, how would you say it affects the search?
Interesting side question, why does Google Search not use tiles and a full page of columns, but a linear list? For me, comparing with why Keep experience, it's that I am interested in all note search results, mostly. Literally all. When I search "cooking" in my notes, I want all my cooking knowledge on my screen. But when I search on Google, I want only the top few results, and the lower ones only if the first ones are not good enough.