Retro Review: Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea: When Music Takes on a Life of its Own

It is hard to talk about Jeff Mangum’s seminal work of indie “freak folk” without everything it has come to mean for so many people over 25 years after its release. The record itself is seen as a stroke of brilliance of almost spiritual proportions, while others see it as over praised garble. Much like a Jackson Pollock, you either see art that has the potential to revolutionise the form or something your 6 year old could do…there is no real middle ground when it comes to this record. I think the over praise of Neutral Milk Hotel and the predictable pushback detract from the brilliance of the music itself. Everyone is so busy trying to have the band become a symbol of something, they forget about the music. Mangum’s hermit nature only added to the myth and the band became more folklore than musicians. Like Grendel and Beowulf with scruffy beards and shoegaze acoustic guitar. For this review we are going to park all the baggage and look at why the music inspires such strong emotional responses.

The band came out of the Elephant 6 Collective, which was sort of an indie fan’s utopia. You had Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, and others all putting out their versions of genre bending indie music. Their organic, and largely formless, structures inspired artists such as Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett and Bright Eyes. However, much like a comet, Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control streaked through the indie sky and quickly vanished. Mangum would later return to the scene with some solo shows and a brief reunion with the band. However, the record In The Aeroplane Over The Sea remains an artefact encased in amber and genuflected upon as the peak of indie artistic expression.

I am not here to shatter your idols dear hipster reader, but we will focus on the music and leave the worship to someone else. The title track, is emblematic of everything Neutral Milk Hotel stirs in people. First of all, musically this track is an example of the kind of lo-fi freak folk that will inspire countless artists in the future. Even though this track came out in 1998, you can hear the lilting rambling guitar that Kurt Vile has made so famous. This track has everything from a singing saw played by Julian Koster to the flugelhorn. However, what it is most known for musically is that flowing guitar and minimal percussion. This largely acoustic driven sound gives the track a lightness, which works well with the themes of death and rebirth Mangum explores throughout the track.

This track is by far the most optimistic and positive track on the record. Even though it is about death, “One day we will die / and our ashes will fly,” he sings about it with a lightness and warmth. Even the darkness hiding in this verse is undercut with the next line “But for now we are young / let us lay in the sun / and count every beautiful thing we can see.” Throughout the track death is paired with beauty, love and a deeper connection. It is a very interesting juxtaposition that really works and makes for a beautiful and fragile track. What really keeps the track together is Mangum’s vocal. His primal scream and wail is replaced by a beautifully (if not cracking and asymmetrical in its own way) raw and warm vocal. Mangum has a very earnest and genuine vocal here, which I think grounds the track and connects with listeners.

I’m not one to praise Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel above all artistic expression, but this is a timeless track that will inspire people for years to come. The rather sparse musical landscape with Mangum’s emotive vocal is a combination that never gets old for me. He is neither hipster god, nor musical charlatan…he is a gifted artist who created a track that will speak to people for decades to come.

Listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea