In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
| Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the second and final album by the American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel. It was released in the United States on February 10, 1998 on Merge Records and in the United Kingdom in May 1998 on Blue Rose Records. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Jeff Mangum’s masterpiece mixes hushed folk, explosive brass, and unforgettable vocals that touch on pain, loss, memory, and hope.
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SPIN
Mangum keeps you fixed on his every bewildered word.
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Soundblab
Its sounds just as timeless and fresh today as it did then. An indisputable classic.
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Rolling Stone
For those not completely sold on its folk charm, Aeroplane is thin-blooded, woolgathering stuff.
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Punknews
While some may argue this point, I would put In the Aeroplane over the Sea as one of the few true classics to be released in 1998.
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WRBB Radio
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has proven its place as a timeless classic, transcending music to become a placard for an entire generation of independent musicians.
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The Needle Drop
Seminal.
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KEXP
Whether a ghost or a myth, maybe it’s a line in another one of the album’s iconic songs that really best captures it: “How strange it is to be anything at all.”
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Stereogum
The album means so much to so many of us.
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The Odyssey Online
One of the greatest albums of all time.
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Pop Matters
At the core of Neutral Milk Hotel's highly acclaimed 1998 album is an exploration of love and the process of unity and separation.
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Ball State Daily
‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’ has become a bizarre culture of its own.
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The Guardian
There's no new material, but it's a joy to experience the long-overdue return of these legends of alt-folk.
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City Pages
Once in a blue moon, a songwriter comes along with a knack for writing wholly original material that seems to channel rock history without self-consciously referencing any of its sacred texts.
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WPTS Radio
I’ve never had an album become a part of my life quite like this one, and it’s one I know that I’ll always come back to.
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Mecca Lecca
A masterpiece.
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The Young Folks
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has taken on a mythological status in certain corners of pop culture, and its vibrant energy continues to bend and reach above the trees.
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Albumism
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is a concept album in its wholeness, a world created and abandoned in less than an hour.
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Scot Scoop
In 1997, Jeff Mangum wrote one of the most deeply emotional and sonically beautiful albums ever made.
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Amino Apps
Whatever it is, this is a special album and ,even if I didn't like it as much as I do, a landmark for its genre.
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All Music
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is undoubtedly a major statement, but just what it's saying is anyone's guess.
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The Student Playlist
While we hope that its creator at some stage feels confident enough to follow it up, at the same time we should perhaps hope that Jeff Mangum never tells us what his masterpiece is really all about.
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UCC
Go listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea right now.
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Treble Zine
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea comes off as a life-affirming, awe-inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime album.
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Immortal Reviews
Neutral Milk Hotel Gave Indie Music A New Voice In "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea".
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Glide Magazine
Indie classic.
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Backseat Mafia
It’s a shame then that it was Neutral Milk Hotel’s final album, and that Mangum has only sporadically returned to the music industry since then, as should he ever decide to return to the recording studio, the results would be greeted with open arms.
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Ryne Shyne
Noise and filler fills the gaps in between the songs, and the musicianship and talent of the group really shines for a band who just completed their second LP.
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Youtube Music Sucks
[Conjures] longing and joy.
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The Vinyl District
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is stone cold brilliant.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
As beautiful as it is disturbing, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is a stunning piece of art that draws you deeper with each listen. Most great art takes time to appreciate, and this album is no exception.
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WERS
Some true psychedelic goodness.
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Essentials Listening Club
First listen is always "This guy can't sing" then it grows on you and you can't get enough of that passion.
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Robert Gelberg Writes
You may change, but wherever you go In the Aeroplane Over the Sea will be there for you, a signal that sounds in the dark.
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Only Solitaire
Belongs on any respectable, representative compilation of 1990s psycho-pop or Elephant 6 anthology.
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The Innis Herald
The album’s journey is arduous and difficult: it requires you to really listen. But if you are willing to put in the effort, you’ll realize that the truth is only a few notes away.
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The Needle Drop
A classic.
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Seven Ponds
Absolutely beautiful.
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Salute Mag
There is so much to this album that cannot be caught in just one listen. With so many allusions, thought, and the over all musical genius that went into Aeroplane, it’s easy to see why many count it among the best albums to ever be recorded.
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The Fire Note
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is going to be an album that only gets better with age.
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Mark Prindle
This album is a cult classic.
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Analog Revolution
Before I begin, it must be said: now that I’ve listened to this album over a dozen times in two weeks, I have no critiques to make of it.
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Puluche
Part nostalgia and part imagination, part love and part heartbreak, In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is an indelible, wildly innovative album that will surely be just as striking after another 15 years.
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Radio Free Chicago
Overall, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is a disturbing, moving, touching, powerful look into a crazed, brilliant mind.
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Noah Lieberman Music
This is a record to talk about endlessly, to get tattoos of, to make fan art for, and whatever else the crazy Neutral Milk Hotel fan base is doing nowadays. This is a record to treasure. 10/10.
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Paris Review
Politically and artistically uncompromising.
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Vulture
Neutral Milk Hotel’s lo-fi yet sonically eclectic and emotionally wrought classic.
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Teen Ink
Do yourself a huge favor and find this mind-bending, heart-warming, and tear-jerking LP.
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Radio UTD
More than anything, I've come to very much admire the continuity of the album.
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The Quietus
Mangum is unquestionably an authentic artist.
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Exepose
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is a slightly-better-than-average folk/indie record with a few novel twists: namely its lo-fi production and unique subject material.
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Slate
Aeroplane is a gorgeous, much adored work of art.
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No Depression
Aesthetic ambition, misfit pop genius, and uninhibited emotions help make a potent soundscape for this very intriguing band.
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HeadStuff
You’ll understand In The Aeroplane Over The Sea even if you might not understand it. There’s something universal in the music.
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Escapist Magazine
In a cosmic sort of way, this album is a huge turd.
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Drowned in Sound
That serpentine, spectral quality that has charmed listeners for fifteen years isn’t for everyone, but it isn’t a mirage. And if you find it, chances are you’ll cherish it.
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Howl and Echoes
There is a child like wonder in his approach that takes all the sadness and tragedy of the story and draws it into a collective unconscious of ideas, amorphous and swirling.
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Tape Op
TIMELESS MUSIC — NOT TOO PUNK, NOT TOO CLEAN.
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Ones to Watch
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea exists as a nostalgia-ridden reminder to days and nights spent trying to uncover a greater, hidden meaning behind all the noise.
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