Like their Elephant 6 labelmates and kindred spirits Olivia Tremor Control's Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, Neutral Milk Hotel's debut, On Avery Island, is an inscrutable concept album, a chronicle of an insular world told in a remarkably universal language.
A fuzzy masterpiece of experimental lo-fi recording, the album wraps its ragged pop songs in ribbons of loops, marching-band squawks, and Casio noodling; the opener, "Song Against Sex," is as much a manifesto as a kickoff, a self-propelled marvel hopped up on rapid-fire wordplay and a stunningly ramshackle melody punctuated by bloated trombone moans.
Throughout the record, Jeff Mangum's wheels threaten to fly off at any time -- his songs are cryptic and crazed, his ideas fast and furious, and together they force the home-recording concept out of the basement and into a brave new world.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Song Against SexJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | You've PassedJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 3 | Someone Is WaitingJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 4 | A Baby for PreeJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 01:21 | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| 5 | Marching ThemeJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | Where You'll Find Me NowJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Avery Island/April 1stJeff Mangum, Robert Schneider | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 01:48 | 4 MB | 6 MB |
| 8 | Gardenhead/Leave Me AloneJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Three PeachesJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | NaomiJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 11 | April 8thJeff Mangum | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 12 | Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey's EyeRick Benjamin, Lisa Janssen, Jeff Mangum, Robert Schneider | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 13:50 | 31 MB | 63 MB |
| 13 | Everything Is... | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 14 | Snow Song (Part I) | Neutral Milk Hotel | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 55 mins | 126 MB | |||||
| 55 mins | 327 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Benjamin | Composer, Trombone |
| 2 | Lisa Janssen | Composer, Fuzz Bass, Multi Instruments |
| 3 | Jeff Mangum | Bells, Casio, Composer, Cover Design, Drums, Guitar, Multi Instruments, Organ, Tape, Vocals, Xylophone |
| 4 | Neutral Milk Hotel | Primary Artist |
| 5 | Aaron Reedy | Multi Instruments |
| 6 | Robert Schneider | Composer, Fuzz Bass, Horn Arrangements, Organ, Xylophone |
| 7 | Hilarie Sidney | Multi Instruments |
Neutral Milk Hotel
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |