album #58

in the aeroplane over the sea (neutral milk hotel)

This might be the first album that I've heard all year that I can unabashedly say: I didn't like it. Jeff Mangum's voice is a grating nasal whine and the lyrics, often interestingly weird, slide a little too much into dislikable, off-puttingly weird. It didn't occur to me at first, but unsurprisingly, 2 of my 3 favorite songs are the instrumental tracks- " " and "The Fool." As a guy who cares for melody and instrumentation in my music, I found the acoustic emphasis and the melodic flatness to be pretty unappetizing. There's some nicely strange instrumental flourishes, this vibe of "a carnival in world war two europe," as an av club reviewer put it well. But if I want that sort of musical experience, Beirut does it much more beautifully and lushly.

"The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1" is their breakthrough song, the most famous track on the record and the one that got me interested and excited to hear the rest of the album. The rest of the album just can't match the melodic heights or promising mystique of that first track. It's not like it's a hateable record, but it's just not my cup of tea.