Neutral Milk Hotel’s sophomore album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Is genuinely a masterpiece. This sort of album only comes once or twice in a lifetime. Where can I even begin to explain this album? How do you explain perfection? The instrumentals are incredible. At the core of each song, is Jeff Mangum acoustic Guitar. Any reasonably capable guitarist could play these songs; they consist of mostly basic open chords. But the beauty of it comes from the layering of instruments. As each song progresses, more and more instruments are added, varying from song to song. Horns, drums and bass tend to be on most of the songs, with strange additions such as the uilleann bagpipes, the singing saw, the one note piano and shortwave radio. This all creates an incredible effect of dense, lush arrangements that you could just as easily get lost in as the Lyrics. And the lyrics, my god the lyrics on this album are incredible. Jeff Mangum sings with this incredible wail, the beauty of anguish. The lyrics themselves are cryptic. They offer no clear answers to anyone, but if you spend enough time with the album, beyond its 40 minute run time, if you relisten, and relisten again, and pour over its lyrics, it rewards you tenfold. It opens its impenetrable shell of mystery and exposes the pearl of meaning that can be found within. What does this album mean anyways? One coil;d write an entire PhD dissertation on that subject. Myself, I believe it to be about the beauty of life and the injustice of death. It speaks of Anne Frank, famously, and the idea of her life being cut short like that. The flower is trampled by the cruel, uncaring boot of death. It is also about childhood, it explores coming of age in a broken home and parental abuse. But I think more than anything, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is an album about Jeff Mangum’s psyche. Mangum wrote much of the album based on his dreams, which explains much of the morphing, abstract, psychedelic imagery he incorporates. This album’s themes are a Jungian exploration of a man’s dreams in beautiful poetry. Ultimately, this album is immaculate. Every listen offers new discoveries and interesting things to explore. The instruments play off of each other and layers in beautiful ways. Jeff Mangum sings not over the top of this music, but as a part of it, he is the same stream as the rest of the composition. It explores a comforting yet terrifying existential battle against death and the beauty of life. This album is perfect