I finally bought the full In the Aeroplane Over The Sea album by Neutral Milk Hotel. I can’t believe I waited so long to complete it. I mean, I’ve had a few of their songs, but I was afraid that the album in its entirety would come off as pretentious. After all, they are an indie-rock band of the nineties. Isn’t pretention required? Thankfully not. I now see why many call it best album of the nineties. It’s a sonic masterpiece. Bittersweet and heart wrenchingly beautiful. All eleven songs feed seamlessly into one another, connecting like a wonderful symphony. And together, each song takes on a wonderful new meaning and flavour that it loses on its own. Everyone should own this album, with the disclaimer that NMH’s music is very similar to Elvis Costello: it can take multiple hearings to appreciate, or even like. A musical assault of the ears that grows on you to the point where it changes something deep inside.