Review Summary: One day we will die and out ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea. But for now we are young, let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see.
Love. Love is a vital part of the human experience, and makes a connection between two people more powerful than anything else. Of course there are different types of love other than romantic love, but I'm talking about pure romantic love. That feeling you get out of nowhere, like a tidal wave of compassion after truly delving deep into someone's soul and feeling them in yours. A very personal space indeed that not many people are willing to dive into or give away easy access. Anyone is taking a huge risk by letting another into their heart, they truly putting themselves out there. "This is the room one afternoon I knew I would love you, and from above you how I sank into your soul, into that secret place that no one dares to go." That idea I just clumsily tried to portray is elegantly and beautifully described in those lines by Neutral Milk Hotel mastermind Jeff Mangum in his masterpiece "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea".
"The King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1" is the opener to this bizarre concept album about love and longing, happiness and pain, life and death. It is a great opener with some simple guitar and sound effects along with the most digestible vocals and lyrics. I say "most digestible vocals" because one component that makes this album so bizarre is Magnum's grating and out of tune vocal performance. Most people who try to get past his vocals give up at the beginning of the second song "The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2". As if Mangum belting out "I love you Jesus Christ!" wasn't off putting enough, the song also introduces some disorienting fuzz and distortion found on "Holland 1945" and "Ghost" as well. Speaking in technical terms his singing is downright terrible, but this album isn't for the technical; most of the chord structures and time signatures are about as simple as they get, even with the interesting horns section and distortion. The album is about passion and movement in your soul, which is abundant throughout this album. Magnum's voice pours out so much emotion in everything he yells out, it's almost over zealous in the inflection it pushes into you. It is certainly understandable if one cannot handle his unique vocals, but there is no denying the sincerity. Speaking of sincerity the lyrics are some of the best ever written, and can be interpreted in seemingly infinite ways. Brand New's Jesse Lacey even called this the most beautiful album of all time, and can often be caught covering "Two Headed Boy" and "Oh Comely" at Brand New concerts.
The album's opener also has the "most digestible lyrics". This album is a concept album written about the love of Jeff Mangum's life and his longing to be with her when he knows he cannot. That may not sound so unorthodox, but what if I told you that the love of Mangum's life is a fifteen year old girl who died in 1945? Yeah. Jeff Mangum read Anne Frank's diary cover to cover, and being the sensitive guy he is was very affected by the tragedies that unfold. Jeff apparently had recurring nightmares after reading the diary, and even fell in love with Anne Frank after getting to know her through her diary. That is a very odd claim indeed, but it takes a great deal of courage to admit to something like that publicly and write an entire album around the concept. If nothing else, Mangum must be commended for his honesty, compassion and sincerity. Mangum's love for Anne Frank is most obvious in "Holland 1945" with the lyrics "The only girl I've ever loved was born with roses in her eyes, but then they buried her alive one evening 1945", or the blunt and heart-breaking "I know they buried her body with others, her sister and mother and 500 families. Will she remember me 50 years later? I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine." from "Oh Comely". Regardless of the mixed opinions about the album as a whole, the lyrics are nothing short of brilliant and unique.
This album is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. I feel I can can relate to this album more than any other. Some may wonder how I can relate so well to an album about Anne Frank and the Holocaust, but obviously that's not the part I'm talking about. I'm talking about loving another human being unconditionally for all time, even if it is only in one's dreams. "And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying, as your mouth moves in mine soft and sweet, rings of flowers around your eyes and I'll love you for the rest of your life." To cite the exact song where that gorgeous line comes from would ruin the feeling of this album and how it all comes full circle. I may not love a dead historical figure but I do have a girlfriend who I love very much and would do anything for. Perhaps that statement has no place in a review, but every beautiful line Mangum belts out about Frank I could relate to the love of my own life. I certainly always "love to be in the arms of all I'm keeping here with me." However as stated at the beginning of this review, true love is never perfect, it can hurt and turn to hate very easily. Unconditional love is not easy, but an important lesson to take from this album is to always love what you love, even if it betrays you. "Two Headed Boy she is all you could need, she will feed you tomatoes and radio wires, and retire to sheets safe and clean, but don't hate her when she gets up to leave." In the end it is worth it, true love is a vital part of the human experience. "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" is the human experience with a unique twist sung by an unorthodox voice that is so very sure of everything it is saying. The album is certainly not for everyone, but I think I'm being very objective when I say this is no doubt a very emotional and sincere work of art. The album even ends with the sound of Mangum putting down his guitar, perhaps symbolic of him disappearing after this. I can't say I blame him, I would imagine writing an album of this magnitude is exhausting both physically and emotionally. Wherever you are Jeff Mangum, thank you for this gem in my collection.
