In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

     

  

     In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is an album that I only first listened to about two months ago. With that being said, I’ve probably listened to the album about a hundred times and I feel such a connection to its songs that it’s hard to believe I haven’t known them my whole life. That’s one of the things about this album, not everyone enjoys it but the people who do tend to get a feeling of sacredness or great importance from it. These feelings this album invokes is what has given it such a cult status. Released by a band called Neutral Milk Hotel in 1998 it is still widely celebrated. My absolute favorite thing about this album has to be Jeff Mangum’s songwriting on it. With his songwriting, Jeff taps in to a surreal and magical world. A magical world filled with carrot flowers, Anne Frank, and semen stained mountaintops. I would like to stress the word surreal. If you aren’t a big fan of surreal songwriting that’s totally fine but, this is probably not the album for you. Personally, I didn’t know I was such a big fan of surreal songwriting until I heard this album. It’s almost as if Jeff Mangum uses his songwriting to bombard your brain with bizarre images straight out of circus freak shows and lonely attics. Jeff Mangum’s vocal delivery on this album is also something I truly love. He has such a unique voice and the way he stresses/holds certain words is very iconic. 

While I do think Jeff Mangum is what makes this album so special, I still find every other musician’s contribution to be immensely important. The horns on the song Communist Daughter or the singing saw that whistles over the title track, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea add a whole other dimension to the music. I didn’t even know that the singing saw was an instrument until I listened to this album. I love its unique sound and the way it’s perfectly used to almost sound like wind, replicating what it would truly sound like to be in an aeroplane over the sea. While we are on the topic I would really like to point out this title track. If I had to pick a favorite song it would be this one, it’s a very beautiful song and from the moment I heard it I knew it was a song I would treasure. In fact, from the moment I heard this album I knew it was something I would treasure. I can't promise this album will be everyones cup of tea but it's definitely worth listening to and has a kind of magic if you're a certain kind of person.