On Avery Island

On Avery Island is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel. It was released on March 26, 1996 by Merge Records.

"Someone Is Waiting" redirects here. For the 2012 Taiwanese album, see Someone Is Waiting (2012 album).
On Avery Island
Studio album by
Neutral Milk Hotel
ReleasedMarch 26, 1996
RecordedJune 1994 ("Marching Theme"); February–May 1995
StudioThe Elephant 6 Recording Co. (Athens, Georgia, US)
Dane Terry and Marisa Bissinger's House
Length47:58
LabelMerge (original US release)
NMH (2014 US reissue)
Fire (UK)
ProducerRobert Schneider
Neutral Milk Hotel chronology
Everything Is
(1994)		 On Avery Island
(1996)		 In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
(1998)
Alternative cover
1996 Fire Records (UK) release
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
Houston Chronicle[3]
Mojo[4]
NME8/10[5]
Pitchfork8.8/10[6]
Q[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
The Skinny[9]
Uncut[10]

Background and recording

Neutral Milk Hotel began in Ruston, Louisiana in the early 1990s, as one of the many home recording projects of musician Jeff Mangum.[11] The simple home recordings Mangum made with his friends Robert Schneider, Bill Doss, and Will Cullen Hart led to the formation of the Elephant 6 music collective.[12] After graduating from high school, Mangum moved to Seattle, and released the single "Everything Is" on Cher Doll Records, under the Neutral Milk Hotel name.[13] The single's exposure convinced Mangum to record more music under this name. He moved to Denver and worked with Schneider to record On Avery Island.[14]

On Avery Island was recorded at Pet Sounds Studio from February to May 1995 except for the track "Marching Theme", which was recorded in June 1994. The album was produced by Robert Schneider on 4-track.[15]

Additional information

The title refers to Avery Island, a salt dome island in southern Louisiana, the band's home state.

The UK version of this CD has two more tracks: "Everything Is" and "Snow Song Pt. 1," both of which are taken from the "Everything Is" single, reportedly without Jeff Mangum's permission.[15] On the vinyl LP, "Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey's Eye" is 3:28 long, as opposed to the significantly longer digital and CD version at 13:49. The UK version also has a different cover, with artwork by Jill Carnes of Thimble Circus.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jeff Mangum, except where noted. Horn arrangements composed by Robert Schneider.

No.TitleLength
1."Song Against Sex"3:40
2."You've Passed"2:54
3."Someone Is Waiting"2:31
4."A Baby for Pree"1:21
5."Marching Theme"2:58
6."Where You'll Find Me Now"4:04
7."Avery Island / April 1st" (Jeff Mangum, Robert Schneider)1:48
8."Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone"3:14
9."Three Peaches"4:01
10."Naomi"4:53
11."April 8th"2:47
12."Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey's Eye"13:49
Total length:47:58

Personnel
  • Jeff Mangum – guitar, drums, vocals, bells, xylophone, air organ, keyboards, tapes, cover design
  • Robert Schneider – air organs, home organs, fuzz bass, xylophone, horn arrangements
  • Lisa Janssen – fuzz bass on tracks 2 and 8, cover design
  • Rick Benjamin – trombone on tracks 1, 7, 8

Track 12 features Marisa Bissinger, Hilarie Sidney, Zachary DeMichele, Dane Terry, Lisa Janssen, Aaron Reedy, and Jeff Mangum performing various Indonesian instruments.

References
  1. Ankeny, Jason. "On Avery Island – Neutral Milk Hotel". AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  2. Hann, Michael (January 4, 2008). "Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island". The Guardian. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  3. Wolff, Kurt (May 5, 1996). "Neutral Milk Hotel a Nice Place to Visit". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. "Neutral Milk Hotel: On Avery Island". Mojo: 122. Opener 'Song Against Sex' is a folk rock protest played with riotous gusto on buzzing acoustics, Mangum's gift for enigmatic lyrical intrigue and his impassioned holler played to the fore.
  5. Goldsmith, Mike (September 14, 1996). "Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island". NME. Archived from the original on May 2, 1999. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  6. Geffen, Sasha (June 22, 2019). "Neutral Milk Hotel: On Avery Island Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  7. "Neutral Milk Hotel: On Avery Island". Q (123): 140. December 1996.
  8. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Neutral Milk Hotel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 579–80. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Bermingham, Finbarr (January 6, 2008). "Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island". The Skinny. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  10. "Neutral Milk Hotel: On Avery Island". Uncut: 85. NMH here plough a sweet yet decidedly experimental furrow of psychpop, art/drone rock and leftfield electronica ...
  11. Cooper 2005, p. 17.
  12. Ballance, Cook & McCaughan 2009, p. 93.
  13. Cooper 2005, p. 30.
  14. Cooper 2005, pp. 31–34.
  15. Neutral Milk Hotel releases

Book sources
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