On Avery Island by Neutral Milk Hotel

Pros: Good songs, great lyrics
Cons: Fuzzy, disruptive production

Unsettling, strange, and eerily chipper Neutral Milk Hotel’s 1996 debut On Avery Island is anything but usual. The lo-fi production (recorded on a simple four-track machine) combined with imaginative lyrics makes for an excellent, although conceptual ...

Pros: Some of these fuzzy songs are awesome as all hell.
Cons: Some of these songs make me want to slit my wrists.

Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what their looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and ...

Pros: outstanding and powerful lyrics, beautiful though odd vocals, wonderfully catchy, all-together charming.
Cons: somewhat hard to get used to if not used to indie. not for the closed-minded.

neutral milk hotel is a real gem that strikes most as odd, but is an oddity to treasure. in t ...

Pros: A lo-lo-fi look at Jeff Mangum's songwriting; noisy and at times powerful.
Cons: Unlistenable at points.

"On Avery Island", the album that preceded the laudable "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea", is an even lower-fi look at Jeff Mangum's abstract lyrics and raw walls of noise than presented on the latter. Produced by Apples In Stereo...

Pros: a fantastic band whose lyrics and motives will always make you wonder...
Cons: it's their first album, and rather weak in comparison to their second.

first of all, if you are new to the wonders of neutral milk hotel, let me recommend 'in the aeroplane over the sea' for your first listening foray. had i listened to this album first, i might not be the fan i am today. neutral milk hotel may very well be...