Review:

on 2011-08-27 CharlesMartel Said:

Like everyone else who gets caught up in the business of checking out new material and listening to the recommendations of others, something I have been doing for four decades now, I eventually came round to buying "In the Aeroplane over the Sea". Indeed, buying that album is so much a part of one's life, it is like graduating from university or getting married almost. Once you've done it, you've grown up and taken your place in society as a fully functioning member of it.

Now buying this was a strange decision. I said before that I was fed up with buying highly rated albums which turned out to be overrated in my opinion, yet, I did it again. However, this album, while overrated, is not as overrated as some others I have bought. After listening to it many, many times, it has begun to grow on me a bit more. I can appreciate it more now than when I first got it. Who knows, I may even one day regret my labelling of it as somewhat over-rated. But for now..

There is no point describing the music. It is something the like of which you are not likely to have heard before. The combination of acoustic guitar and fuzz bass makes for an interesting listen. Idiosyncratic is one way of describing it, but that is putting it mildly. I get the distinct impression that if you take an instant dislike to this album, it is something you are never going to overcome. Other albums, with repeated plays, may grow on you, or show you things which you never heard at first, and which bring about a change of mind in you. Not "In the Aeroplane over the Sea". If you dont like this when you hear it the first time round, put it away, because you are never going to like it. Not ever.

Then there are the lyrics. Well what can you say. It almost seems as if Jeff Mangum is making them up as he goes along. Some of the imagery is downright bizarre. Take the opening track, "The King of Carrot Flowers, Part One" and the line about sticking a fork into someone's shoulder, or the line later in the album where Mangum sings of inserting fingers in the gaps between someone's spine. As for "Holland, 1945", the whole thing is just downright weird - a girl who died in 1945 is now playing a piano with flames coming out of it in Spain. If Mangum wasn't insane when he wrote this then he was either pretty close to it or trying to capture the feelings of insanity in music and words. However, in all probability, drugs. Need I say more.

So what do I make of it? Well, I can't say I agree with the ratings it has achieved. It is unique, and therefore special, but I fear that it is just another example of the emperor's new clothes phenomenon. One day, I suspect, a lot of people are going to wake up and think, "did I really rate that so high?" Could it be that, one day, one of those people will be me? But for now, I will hold that it retains an appeal and grows on me after repeated plays. In small doses I can find this quite appealing, but Mangum's voice surely grates after a while, and that is never a good sign for an album's longevity on my personal playlist. It is nasally and at times almost as off key as the music. That may be intentional. But it does not help my listening pleasure.

In the end, this album is a trial, as far as I am concerned. It has merits, but not enough to make me think it is the work of genius others think it is. There is a certain element of people liking this to fit in with the hip crowd, but that does not explain its appeal in its entirely. In the end, it is the uniqueness which will draw people to it. There really is nothing like this anywhere else, and if you enjoy something because it is radically different from the norm, then you will enjoy this.
Rating: 6/10

on 2008-02-07 redblondehead Said:

if you like nmh, you should check out the magnetic fields and beirut. beirut was actually cofounded w/ jeff and zac condon. and yeah, you're right - people still buy this album because its so good, even though the band already brok eup.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2007-07-04 dscanland Said:

Thanks for the comments. This is an absolute essential. So many bands have used Neutral Milk Hotel's sound as a template. Still in the top 100 sellers at Insound: http://www.insound.com/topsellers.php
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-07-04 kev_stev Said:

Great review! It's absolutely true that this album is a complete masterpiece and is best left untouched.
Rating: 10/10