The majority of reviews on the re-release of Neutral Milk Hotel's near-flawless debut, On Avery Island, will clutter up the opening paragraph with unchecked whisperings of NMH's 1997 masterpiece – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea – that perfect album, that not-cool album, that split-skull diorama fever-dream of Anne Frank album.  And yes, those reviewers might be right to do so, to ignore it would be like ignoring the Mona Lisa at an exhibition of Da Vinci's art.  Or maybe it simply can't be ignored – whether hated, loved, admired, or enshrined, Jeff Mangum's second opus is remembered, it makes an impact; it's important. 

But to forget On Avery Island would be a travesty - so we will discuss carrot flowers, semen-stained mountain-tops, and two-headed boys no more.  For those unaware of NMH or Jeff Mangum:

Neutral Milk Hotel is possibly the best known collective of the Elephant 6 Recording Company – a rabble of experimental and pop musicians based around Athens, Georgia.  They are folksy, noisy, and carry the kind of psychedelics that Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson would be proud of.  Other well known extensions of their efforts are The Apples In Stereo and The Olivia Tremor Control – both of which Mangum played with.  Mangum, however, stands out from the rest by the sheer frenzy and mastery of his craft. 

On Avery Island gasps to life with a stream of beautiful and violent imagery driven by an enjoyable bounce of a melody. Song Against Sex is just one of several recurrences of seemingly straight-forward pop songs.  The encroaching distortion and tape-machine experimentations present, however, quickly takes control of the destiny of the album and its speaker, culminating in the silencing of the singer in the monstrous hypnotic Pree-Sisters Swallowing A Donkey's Eye.  The only retreat we hear is the sometime sanctuary of a lonely horn, soon overgrown with the dense undergrowth of madness.  These senses of confusion, estrangement, and sexual defeat (impotence) are strong throughout (Gardenhead/ Leave Me Alone and Where You'll Find Me Now) – and possibly to the detriment of the album as an cohesive entity.  On Avery Island is like the collected fragments of an ancient philosopher.  Startling moments of insight without their connective strands, ravaged by lack of clarity, like the language of prophets.  The words remain, the book is gone. 

And what words!  Mangum's grotesque menagerie of images, the intensity with which they are delivered, and the presence of meaning flowing along them can either make a gorgeous, dreamy listen or a delirious synaptic rush.  Without one example really gleaning what I mean, here's an assortment of quotes from the album:

1) “someone is waiting to swallow all the halos out of you / as your face blows through my windows / sending pieces flying around my room” (Someone Is Waiting)

2) “all smiling and swollen / makes babies to breathe / with their hearts hanging out over the sheets / as soft as beets in some brown dresser drawer” (A Baby For Pree)

3) “out in the dark the world is still rolling kids in their cars” (Where You'll Find Me Now)

4) “crawl across towards your window / I'm calling softly from the street / always a lonely widow, half awake and sleeping on my feet” (April 8th)

Mangum's power is to make music that people care about – that they identify themselves with.  They hold it close and share it with their best friends.  After listening to his songs, Mangum is your best friend.  That's his magic – and that's also why we feel sad without him making music anymore.  Ultimately, On Avery Island is a solo album – shaky, fuzzy, and fragile, with profound circular poetics that ride the rickety vehicle for all its worth.

Release date: 14/01/08
Artist website: www.neutralmilkhotel.net
Label: Fire

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