#9 - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

#9
Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel
Album: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Year of Release: 1998
Label: Merge

There is nothing left to write about this album, so I'd like to do some time travel instead.  Specifically I'd like to go back two years before this record was released.  It's now 1996 and the up-and-coming band Neutral Milk Hotel has just released their debit album, On Avery Island.  It is fine.  Unique and self-assured, yes, but ultimately just fine.  If I were to (correctly) predict their next work to be an all-time great, I would be ridiculed.  But given that we've time traveled here from the future we can afford to be benevolent and introduce the topic for discussion: Is there anything here to suggest that Neutral Milk Hotel has something transcendent to offer in their not-too-distant future?  To answer this question, let's scout the band like we're watching Mike Trout play for the Salt Lake Bees.

Sound - The band's strong suit.  Everything is there to suggest a band ready to explode onto the scene.  The fuzzy guitars, the acoustic sections, the additional instrumentation, the emotive vocals.  Neutral Milk Hotel has a distinct sound that is nonetheless warm enough to endear itself to any listener.  Lean into this and maybe even expand it.

Lyrics - Endearingly weird.  From the first few lines of "Song Against Sex," we understand that we're in for a distinct and wild ride.  A few songs (ie. "Naomi") fall into the uncanny valley of creepy dude lyrics, but this isn't anything that can't be smoothed out by, say, shifting your focus to an undying love for a 15-year-old girl that was killed in the world's most infamous genocide.

Songwriting - The weak spot.  Most of the songs don't progress beyond their initial verse-chorus structure.  Even if those end up being interesting some of the time, the band will need to progress beyond that to stick out.  Maybe consider more up-tempo songs or some strongly-plucked acoustic work to make this easier on you.  Most of the chord progressions are pretty pedestrian as well, although there's a part of the ninth track "Three Peaches" that sounds like it could be part of something epic.  Like maybe an eight-minute acoustic track that's so good Scott Spillane says "Holy Shit!" at the end of the recording.  Just a thought.

Intangibles - Song titles are cute, stick with that.  Album cover is blah, try a painting or something more welcoming.  Keep the weird instruments and get even weirder - maybe play a saw?  Instead of being against sex, be for it, and mention the product of it multiple times.  Also try sharing your feelings on Jesus Christ at least once.  And lay off the 3-1 slider.