In the Aeroplane over the Sea

In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Studio album by Neutral Milk Hotel
Released	February 10, 1998
Recorded	July–September 1997, Pet Sounds Studio, Denver, Colorado
Genre	Indie rock
Length	39:51
Label	Merge
Producer	Robert Schneider
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Pitchfork Media (10.0/10.0) 2005 Planet Sound Rolling Stone 1998 Rolling Stone 2005 Tiny Mix Tapes link
Neutral Milk Hotel chronology
On Avery Island (1996) In the Aeroplane over the Sea (1998)

In the Aeroplane over the Sea is the second studio album by American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, released in the United States on February 10, 1998 on Merge Records. The album was released in the United Kingdom in May 1998 on Blue Rose Records.

Jeff Mangum moved from Athens, Georgia to Denver, Colorado to prepare the bulk of the album's material with producer Robert Schneider, this time at Schneider's newly-created Pet Sounds Studio at the home of Jim McIntyre.

The album's cover was a collaboration between Mangum and R.E.M.'s staff designer, Chris Bilheimer.^[1] The general design reflects the taste of Mangum: Bryan Poole said that "[Mangum] was always into that old-timey, magic, semi-circus, turn-of-the-century, penny arcade kind of imagery."^[2] One particular piece Mangum showed to Bilheimer was an old European postcard with an image of people bathing at a resort, which was then cropped and altered for the cover.^[2] Bilheimer also designed a broadsheet-style lyrics sheet for the album, and inadvertently titled "Holland, 1945" in the process; Jeff wanted to use either "Holland" or "1945" for the song, and Bilheimer suggested he use both.^[3]

The album continues to sell well, and was the sixth-best-selling vinyl album in 2008.^[4]

Reception

Initial reviews of In the Aeroplane over the Sea were mixed. A review in the College Music Journal called Aeroplane a "A true lo-fi pop landmark" and cited "Holland, 1945" as a highlight.^[5] Pitchfork Media's M. Christian McDermott gave the album an 8.7 out of 10, referring to Neutral Milk Hotel as "one psych-rock band making music that's just as catchy as it is frightening" and said that the album "does a credible job of blending Sgt. Pepper with early 90's lo-fi."^[6] A review by Ben Ratliff in Rolling Stone was more negative: "Unfortunately, Mangum went straight for the advanced course in aura and texture, skipping basic training in form and selfediting. [...] He sings loudly, straining the limits of an affectless voice. [...] For those not completely sold on its folk charm, Aeroplane is thin-blooded, woolgathering stuff."^[7]

Jason Ankeny of Allmusic wrote, "lo-fi yet lush, impenetrable yet wholly accessible, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is either the work of a genius or an utter crackpot, with the truth probably falling somewhere in between." Ankeny also praised Mangum's vocals as "far more emotive" than they were on On Avery Island, but criticized the lyrics as vague in meaning, saying, "While Mangum spins his words with the rapid-fire intensity of a young Dylan, the songs are far too cryptic and abstract to fully sink in — In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is undoubtedly a major statement, but just what it's saying is anyone's guess."^[8] Robert Christgau rated the album a "Neither",^[9] and while he later wrote that the album "convinced alt diehards that maturity can be just as weird as growing up", he also called it "a funereal jape that gets my goat."^[10]

"In the Aeroplane over the Sea" The third track of In the Aeroplane over the Sea. This sample contains a portion of the song's second verse. Evident are the driving acoustic guitar progressions and the use of a multitracked singing saw. "Holland, 1945" The sixth track of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. This sample contains the end of the second verse and the beginning of the chorus. The song prominently features distorted guitars, Jeremy Barnes's explosive drumming, and horn arrangements by Robert Schneider and Scott Spillane.

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Subsequent reviews from Pitchfork and Rolling Stone were more positive; the latter gave the album four of five stars in its 2004 The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition, with reviewer Roni Sarig writing, "Mangum had put together something resembling an actual band, resulting in a far richer and more organic sound [than On Avery Island]. What's more, the songwriting had blossomed far beyond the bounds of Elephant 6 (or indie rock as a whole), with Mangum etching out timeless transcendentalist pop steeped in a century of American music (from funeral marches to driving punk)." Sarig also commended the album for its "passionate acoustic-guitar strums, irresistible melodies, and lyrics that rarely feel obtuse even when they're nonsensical."^[11] Pitchfork, in a 2005 review written by Mark Richardson, gave the album a perfect score. Richardson praised the album's lyrical directness and "kaleidoscopic" musical style.^[12] PopMatters named a reissue of the album one of the best of 2005, and wrote, "Aeroplane is a manifesto for a different way of making pop. To hear 'Two-Headed Boy' in 2005 is to realize that Mangum's art is simply superb songwriting. But most of the record adds an ingenious mixture of accordion, brass, organ, fuzzed-out guitars, tape, and other glorious miscellanea."^[13]

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler named Aeroplane as a chief reason that his band signed to Merge.^[14] Jesse Lacey of Brand New called In the Aeroplane over the Sea "the greatest record ever written", and has covered "Holland 1945", "Oh Comely", and "Two Headed Boy Pt. 2" in concert.^[15][16] Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer's play With the Needle that Sings in Her Heart was inspired by In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and The Diary of Anne Frank.^[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Mangum except where noted. Horn arrangements by Robert Schneider and Scott Spillane.

1. "The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. One" – 2:00
2. "The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. Two & Three" (Jeremy Barnes, Julian Koster, Jeff Mangum, Scott Spillane) – 3:06
3. "In the Aeroplane over the Sea" – 3:22
4. "Two-Headed Boy" – 4:26
5. "The Fool" (Spillane) – 1:53
6. "Holland, 1945" – 3:12
7. "Communist Daughter" – 1:57
8. "Oh Comely" – 8:18
9. "Ghost" – 4:08
10. Untitled – 2:16
    • On the album's liner notes, there is nothing written beside the track's number of "10."
    • Some sources refer to the untitled track as "Penny Arcade in California".^{[citation needed]}
11. "Two-Headed Boy, Pt. Two" – 5:13

Personnel

• Jeff Mangum – guitar, vocals, organ, floor tom, bass guitar, tape, shortwave radio, art direction
• Jeremy Barnes – drums, organ
• Scott Spillane – trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, euphonium, horn arrangements
• Julian Koster – Wandering Genie organ, singing saw, bowed banjo, accordion, white noise
• Robert Schneider – home organ, air organ, bass, backing vocals, piano, horn arrangements
• Laura Carter – zanzithophone
• Rick Benjamin – trombone
• Merisa Bissinger – saxophone, flugelhorn
• James Guyatt — Percussion
• Michelle Anderson – Uilleann pipes
• Chris Bilheimer – art direction
• Brian Dewan – illustrations

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.^[18]

References

Further reading

• DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. (Milwaukee) Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-634-05548-8.

External links

• In the Aeroplane over the Sea at MusicBrainz
• In the Aeroplane over the Sea at Last.fm
• In the Aeroplane over the Sea at Google Music