Neutral Milk Hotel
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

THE REVIEW

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is the second and final album by Neutral Milk Hotel, led by the Immense Jeff Magnum. 

1997 - after the "On Avery Island" tour, Jeff and Scott moved to Georgia, where old notes by Jeff related to Anne Frank's diary, the muse for the album I am mentioning, were dusted off.

But now let's talk about the album itself: for the recording of this gem, Magnum was very demanding and precise. We don't find him sitting on a chair with the guitar strumming and saying some rhyming phrases; rather, we find him surrounded by musicians who await instructions down to the smallest details. Just think about the instruments that adorn the album (guitar, bass, organ, floor tom, drums, trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, euphonium, harmonica, singing saw, banjo, accordion, piano, zanzithophone, saxophone, uilleann pipes.)

The album is composed of 11 tracks, but I don't want to delve into a track by track... but I must obligatorily focus on one of them.

"The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One" & "The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three", which would be the two opening tracks of the album that actually, fused together, create a song divided into three well-distinguishable parts, where we can find lively, melancholic, and rock sounds; I wanted to pause on this track because I consider it musical perfection, what every artist chases. Truly wonderful (excuse me for all this emphasis; the fact is that while I write this, I am listening to it). "The King of Carrot Flowers" alone would be enough to make us understand the greatness of this group, but instead, we are not satisfied and find nine other tracks waiting for us.

The rest of the album follows a rather melancholic sound, with a classic guitar that is compensated by the instruments I mentioned earlier. The only one where we find some still rock sounds is "Holland, 1945".

I consider this an album that can make us feel many emotions if not listened to daily. It is not a whore that can always be inserted into our stereo; it must be listened to at moments of particular intensity in our lives to understand it fully, otherwise, it becomes just another album you play for friends in the car, and that’s not right... this is a Masterpiece that must be guarded with extreme jealousy.

Thank you, as always, for putting up with one of my boring reviews.

To: Cobra.