With “jazzy” and “avant-garde” sounds, the album “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel has heavily influenced modern indie music. PHOTO CREDIT: Spotify
Neutral Milk Hotel may not be a household name, yet their 1998 album, “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea,” is one of the most important and influential albums in the indie genre.
While well-received on release, it has since been recognized as an all-time great by many fans of indie-folk music and has amassed a cult following since.
Jeff Mangum, the founder of Neutral Milk Hotel, began releasing tracks under Neutral Milk Hotel in 1993 when he released the EP “Everything Is.” This first album was essentially a solo project though, as Neutral Milk Hotel did not become a band until the release of their debut full-length album, “On Avery Island,” an album that was received with less acclaim. The album truly established Neutral Milk Hotel’s eclectic, overdrive-heavy sound that would be developed further on “Aeroplane.”
The story behind the album is quite interesting. According to an interview with Pitchfork, Mangum claimed inspiration from many different sounds, including jazz and the avant-garde styles of Pierre Henry and Luc Ferrari, as well as the concepts and imagery of the circus. While writing songs, which Mangum constantly did in this period, parts would come to him piece by piece, which he would eventually find ways to connect together into full songs. Other parts of songs were worked out while improvising or playing live, often later being expanded on during recording.
Lyrically speaking, the album is defined by some as a concept album. While much of the album covers concepts such as existentialism, it also dives into Mangum’s mind, covering his hallucinations and thoughts. One focal point on the album is Anne Frank. Mangum said that while he was writing “Avery Island,” he walked into a bookstore and bought a copy of the “Diary of Anne Frank” and became engrossed in it. He cried about it for days and began to have dreams about taking a time machine to save her. This became a motif on the album, particularly on “Holland, 1945” and the title track. While the concept of the album may put some people off, it has still received surprising success.
The titular track, “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea,” is a haunting track based around a simple chord progression, played on an acoustic guitar with slight distortion. It makes use of a beautifully haunting musical saw throughout, alongside a well-placed horn solo.
“Two-Headed Boy” takes advantage of Mangum’s powerful yet incredibly unique and nasal vocal style, alongside his cryptic lyrics and simple acoustic progression, to turn the song into a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
“Holland, 1945” stands out in the album, with it being the most powerful and electric song on the album. It takes advantage of heavy distortion, and its lyrics allude more clearly to Anne Frank than any other song on the album.
Not one song on the album feels out of place along its relatively short forty-minute runtime, and each song comes together to create a complete and cohesive work of art. The album has defined the indie-folk genre for the past two decades and is still seen as the be-all and end-all of the genre by many. For anyone looking to get into the genre, this album is the perfect starting point.