Song(s) of the week

The picks:

“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, “Holland, 1945”, and “Oh Comely” by Neutral Milk Hotel

Where I found Neutral Milk Hotel: With Parks and Recreation coming to such a satisfying conclusion on Thursday I thought I’d pay tribute to the show by featuring April’s favourite band. I apologise to all the diehard fans out there who are cringing at the Parks and Recreation reference (I assume they found out about this band immaculately), but while the story of Jeff Magnum and Neutral Milk Hotel all seems vaguely familiar (Wikipedia that, it’s very interesting) Parks and Rec was really the first time I’d ever heard of them. Really, if you like the band so much perhaps you shouldn’t have kept them such a closely guarded secret.

What I like: The level of songwriting is incredible. The arrangements are fantastic – never boring, never the same, always moving. The lyrics are random and scattered, something I’d usually dismiss as poetic pandering if they didn’t have such an odd sense of purpose. And Magnum’s voice – probably the reason for all that purpose – is rugged and emotive, perfectly guiding the listener through songs broken into multiple sections and time signatures (see “Oh Comely”). Neutral Milk Hotel has to be one of my better finds in a very long time.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel


Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel


Oh Comely - Neutral Milk Hotel