Neutral Milk Hotel
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
[Merge]
Rating: 8.7
As good indie pop acts grow fewer and further between, the
driving force of the underground is growing decidedly noisy and
abstract. But while fab acts like Gastr del Sol, Flying Saucer Attack
and Tortoise continue to pulverize traditional song structure, there's
one psych-rock band making music that's just as catchy as it
is frightening.
From the opening "King of Carrot Flowers," In the Aeroplane Over
the Sea shifts from acoustic folkiness to loud, fast punk rock
with little or no warning. It features a noisy horn section and a
dreamy singin' saw, all rolled into a package that does a credible
job of blending Sgt. Pepper with early 90's lo-fi.
Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Magnum
writes songs that read like bad dreams. He inherits a world of
cannibalism, elastic sexuality and freaks of nature. We can only assume he
likes it there.
-M. Christian McDermott
