In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

by

Neutral Milk Hotel

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Let's pretend, for a moment, that you're listening to Aeroplane for the first time, having heard nothing at all from this alternately praised and despised album. The first thing to notice is the faintly catchy acoustic strumming of "King of Carrot Flowers, part 1". In bursts a slightly nasal voice that was never intended to sing, an odd accompanying wind or brass instrument that strangely matches it, and nonsensical lyrics reminiscent of Syd Barrett but with more sex. Just when you're getting used to this little piece of quirk, Part 2 begins, and a lo-fi electric guitar begins arpeggiating uncertainly. The voice is back, and this time it's nigh-excruciating as singer Jeff Mangum belts out "IIILooooooovveYYOOOOOOOOOUUUUJEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUSCHRIIIIIIISSSSTT" in a register far above his capacity. At this point, the listener either runs screaming, never to touch the album again, or (and this is the path you follow) s/he "gets the joke" and bursts into fits of laughter; Mangum sure has balls. Aeroplane gets mentally filed into the "Novelty" section.

No sooner do you dismiss this act as a good joke than Neutral Milk Hotel shatters the conception by bursting into the dreadfully catchy and piledriving near-punk of Part 3. As a plethora of sounds and instruments clank and whirr along, the band reveals its ace in the hole, a brass band that brings even more of a mad, carnivalesque tenor to the song. Maybe this band can rock after all, you think, however weirdly. Could they possibly be _serious_?

The final piece to the puzzle comes with the next two songs. The affecting (and affected) "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" is quite possibly the finest piece of music ever recorded involving a musical saw(three-part saw harmonies, no less!), and the surreal lyrics finally coalesce into a theme, as fine a musical take on "carpe diem" as I remember in rock. By the time Two-Headed Boy Part I rolls around, the songwriting's become almost unbearably good, the singing's become almost unbearably strained, and the instruments have just gone nuts. The sense of yearning is palpable, but something odd's going on. Sure, there's the acoustic guitar being played as violently as in any punk song, but is that the brass band shifting into a New Orleans funeral march? Indeed!

The remainder of the album is a kaleidoscope of oddity, pain, love, young sex, Anne Frank, flowers, flames, spines, and death. Rather than being any one of the the things suggested in the previous paragraphs, Neutral Milk Hotel is ALL of them. Mangum is joking lightly and deadly serious, celebratory and mournful, mad and sane, sober and wild. Illustrating the contradiction are the songs that can make me cry even though I couldn't understand the lyrics if my life depended on it. This album encompasses it all, and just when it all seems like it's going to fly apart, the tortured conviction of Mangum's voice and the utter catchiness of the music win out. _Aeroplane..." is a terrific album if you're willing to accept it on its own terms, and I pity anyone who misses out on it; in all the flailing weirdness, it somehow becomes universal.

PS: The voice becomes incredibly endearing after enough listens.

OK... Most reviews I've seen of this CD are either wild exuberant praise (Magnet magazine even called this the #1 album of the 90's), or less than flattering (one I remember saying "howling tunelessly over an acoustic guitar"). I guess it's one of those things where you either get it or you don't, and there's no middle ground - which is strange because I'm totally in the middle on this CD. Sure, there's cool instrumentation (brass, organs, all the bells and whistles that other Elephant 6 bands like the Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control use) there are outstanding lyrics and Dylan-esque wordplay, and "Holland 1945" may have been the best song of 1998. But there are shortcomings too, for example some songs just aren't very good. There IS some "tuneless howling" here and there, "Oh Comely" drags on for what seems like forever, and the mix can be a bit too fuzzed out for pleasant listening. I guess my personal tastes lean more to the poppier indie bands, while Neutral Milk Hotel is much less Beatles/Beach Boys influenced. For you indie rock conneuiseurs, Mangum sounds quite a bit like the lead singer of Lotion (cool band). Anyway, the bottom line is to definately buy this album if you are a fan of Elephant 6 bands, punky folk music, or like picking out amazing lines from song lyrics - avoid if you are a pop purist or into traditional vocals/song structure.

Best Tracks:

"The King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1" - Nice lyrics on this one (naturally), the mix is a bit clearer on this one and Mangum's voice doesn't get too schizo. A nice opener, quite Dylan to these ears.

"The Aeroplane Over The Sea" - More of the same musically - acoustic led, but this song is a bit more direct lyrically.

"Holland 1945" - Unbelievable. Just read the lyrics, and imagine it set to a bouncy fuzz pop song. Everyone who has heard this song around me says it sounds Irish, I can see where they get that from, its very sing-alongy.

"Communist Daughter" - Less than 2 minutes of haunting acoustic folk. Good follow after the genius "Holland 1945".