Neutral Milk Hotel’s second full album ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’ (1998) is one of the indie classics of the nineties. Neutral Milk Hotel was a founding member of the innovative Elephant 6 recording collective based in Athens, Georgia, U.S.A.

Jeff Mangum’s impassioned vocal delivery (‘the voice that was never meant to sing’ as one reviewer put it), darkly surreal and poetic lyrics and the band’s diverse instrumentation set a significant precedent for later North American bands, including the Decemberists and the Arcade Fire.

Jeff Mangum dropped out of sight soon after the release of the album. The album has recently been re-released by Domino Records. The CD liner notes contain the enigmatic lyrics and list the instruments used on the album, including zanzithiphone (whatever that is), flugelhorn, euphonium, uilleann pipes, one-note piano, bowed banjo and singing saw. The title track in particular (provided below) uses the singing saw to great effect.

 

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Neutral Milk Hotel - In the aeroplane over the sea