I'm an eightteen year old student from Bristol.
I like football, music, writing, just the normal ...
I'm an eightteen year old student from Bristol.
I like football, music, writing, just the normal stuff I suppose.
I daresay that isn't very interesting. Oh well.
Member since:16.04.2006
Reviews:3
...and certainly one of my personal favourite albums of all time. To attempt to break this record down into genre or category is to do it a massive disservice, to criticise it like a normal album seems rather pointless. However, I realise that the point of a review is to do just that, so here goes: The songs are musically plain, folk-like in their simplicity. The lyrics are surreal, but touching. The sound is fuzzy and unkempt, with drums and acoustic guitar fleshed out by bass, trumpet and 'musical saw'. But the most outstanding element of this album is the voice. Jeff Mangum has a style that ties these elements together and turns it into a deeply resonant experience. From the opener "King Of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1", it becomes obvious that this is something out of the ordinary. Mangum strums three chords on his acoustic, sings the lines "You built a tower tumbling through the trees / In holy rattlesnakes that fell all around your feet", and he means it! In any other hands this might seem pretentious, but believe me, it works, spectacularly. From there it only gets better - from the unstoppable rolling thunder of "Holland, 1945" to the eight minute solo opus "Oh, Comely", Mangum paints timeless pictures of flesh, war and death that will qiute possibly change the way you think about music. At the end of the final song, he puts down his guitar and leaves. And that's it. The last material he has recorded in over a decade. This record is fated to become his masterpiece. In certain circles this has already proven to be an incredibly influential album, and it will eventually be revered in mainstream circles as a true cult classic, but it's more than that. It's the greatest album you've never heard.
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This album has just been voted #26 among "100 Albums for Eternity": http://www.nord-com.net/achim.helmedach/Startseite2007.html - and I had never heard of it before. I suppose I will have to give it a listen!
Volvagia 29.08.2007 20:25
Ah, I love this album...very good indeed, one that rewards many listens. Chris :)
marky2k 23.04.2007 21:27
As the others said, a bit more detail needed. Otherwise, a good review, and nice to see neutral milk hotel get the recognition they deserve!
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