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 Masterpiece Mar 16, 2010
The haunting yet beautiful composition created by Jeff Mangum and company in the album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea carries great power and can best be described as paradoxical. His songwriting and lyrics are on the surface basic, yet at the same time full of complexity and meaning. Both simple and unorthodox, these seamless eleven tracks showcase a mind capable of synthesizing many instruments and techniques into a surrealistic masterpiece.
The album begins in a simple, accessible fashion as familiar power chords back Mangum's straightforward vocal melodies in the intro to "King of Carrot Flowers, pt. 1." Soon the listener becomes enraptured as the tone turns serious with the line `And your mom would stick a fork right into Daddy's shoulder / and Dad would throw the garbage all across the floor.' Accompanying this abrupt shift in tone is the entrance of new instruments including the accordion and the electric bass. The opening track thus sets the agenda for the concept album: a transcendent mixture of simple melodies and chord progressions, deeply emotional concepts and lyrics, combined with a tremendous variety of instruments that will eventually include an acoustic guitar, drums, a heavily fuzzed bass, bowed banjo, theremin, zanzithiphone, uillean pipes, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, tape, shortwave radio, singing saw, organ, white noise, flugelhorn, and something called a Wandering Genie organ.
The opening song drifts seamlessly into the second, carried over with a bizarre sustained chord composed of some of these instruments. The second track, entitled "King of Carrot Flowers, parts 2 and 3," begins in a similarly simple fashion as the first. A creaky guitar riff dominates over ambient organ and bass rumblings beneath while Mangum wails `I love you Jesus Christ.' Such a perplexing introduction quickly evolves with heavy hitting drums and electric bass over eerie brass parts. The song then picks up speed for its final stage, characterized largely by a fast punk drum rhythm covered with a loud, noisy bass part. This song showcases Neutral Milk Hotel's talents extremely well, combining the simple with the weird and mysterious in a challenging musical statement.
The album's third song and title track boasts a strange electric instrument (possibly a theremin) hauntingly floating in the background that seems to match the strangeness of Mangum's wailing voice and jumbled, mysterious lyrics. This song demonstrates a well-layered composition of traditional acoustic instruments and untraditional electronic instruments, but also begins to impart the overarching theme of the album. Mangum, deeply touched by the story of Anne Frank, writes a sad and emotional tale about the loss of innocence and unfulfilled promise.
The rest of the album flows together as a terrific piece of storytelling and musical composition filled with its share of ups and downs. Each song contains different elements of Neutral Milk Hotel which make it unique. "Two-Headed Boy" follows the title track as an emotional acoustic ballad. In contrast, the next track, entitled "The Fool," comprises primarily of brass, drums, and a strange high pitched instrument that may be an organ. "Holland, 1945" is fast and upbeat with traditional rock instruments and horns, flowing into "Communist Daughter," a somber and slow song with an odd assortment of electronic screeches, scratches, and white noise plaguing the background. The final three songs continue the fantastic and imaginative nature of the album, indispensably bringing the album to its close with the haunting "Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2."
The true brilliance of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea lies not in the ability of the band to create songs using such a wild variety of instruments, but in their ability to masterfully compose this elements into something that sounds so simple and beautiful. To top it off, Mangum infuses their work with a mysteriously personal and transcendent theme, connecting deeply with the listener. The final product is by no means easy to understand--it remains a paradox for each listener to interpret in their own way.
A Must Have... Mar 11, 2010
There are few albums that, upon a first listen, you know are destined to be classic, and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is one of them. I bought this album a good year or two ago after reading an article in Slate Magazine about Jeff Mangum, which described Aeroplane as a "musical curio so gloriously odd that it almost defies description." How true that is---bagpipes, horns, saws, highly distorted guitar riffs, with songs so various in sound that it's a mystery and a work of art that it weaves together as a whole, but weave it does into one of the most beautiful albums ever recorded. Part Nirvana, part Beatles, part Dylan, Aerpolane is not like anything you've heard before. Mangum's voice is so strong and pure in its emotion that you cannot help but be pulled in. It rapidly became a contender for my all time favorite album, and I still try to introduce Aeroplane to anyone who might appreciate it, though it is true that Aeroplane is not for everyone. There are those who are mad at Jeff Mangum for pulling a disappearing act after Aeroplane's release, but honestly, where could he have gone from here? He and his fellow musicians cut a masterpiece with this one.....
.......and I left my flight suit at home.............. Jan 23, 2010
The first time you listen to this you need to be very loose. This is gonna push you a bit farther than you really feel is comfortable. This recording is kinda scary, like maybe your first acid trip. The ceiling starts to ripple a bit. The books on the bookshelf look like they are changing covers......but really you have never taken acid and you never plan to or want to. You know what ? this is the closest you will ever come. Incredible.
Classic Dec 27, 2009
This album made we want to buy a vinyl version for the first time in 20 years. It is the kind of art that you want to listen to the whole way through. It sucks that I am 10 years late to this party but I will hold it up to the great full "albums" of the past - Dark Side of the Moon, Electric Ladyland, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Kind of Blue, Highway 61 Revisited, Tonight's the Night... I'm not sure what they(Jeff Mangum) are trying to get across but this is monumental. When the songs about Anne Frank show up it just completely cements the greatness of this masterpiece. Production: 10 Lyrics: 10 Music: 10 It doesn't get much better than this. Wow.
Positive Milk Dec 20, 2009
Fantastic exploration. I bit of folk, psycho, indie, rock which sounds like a back drop to an animated movie from Planet OZ. One of the best finds for the open minded listener who apperciates original music. I won't go into technicalities here, the other reveiwers did a gret job on definition but the singer takes you to a place you have never been and the stories are Wow! My favorite songs being "Oh Comely" and "Two Headed Boy." All the songs are worthy of praise and this music does sound best on vinyl. For the mature music listener only. His voice is a bit odd but it becomes very fitting after a couple listens and you will apperciate the major effort he went into vocal emphasis
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