In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the second and final studio album by the American band Neutral Milk Hotel, released on February 10, 1998, by Merge Records.

Producer Robert Schneider worked with bandleader Jeff Mangum to improve upon the low-quality sound of Neutral Milk Hotel's debut album, On Avery Island.

Instead of using standard studio equipment like guitar pedals or effects units to induce distortion, Schneider developed a recording technique that involved heavy compression.

To promote the album, Neutral Milk Hotel undertook a tour of North America and Europe, and developed a reputation for chaotic and physically demanding performances.

[3] Initially called Milk, Mangum shared the recordings he created with his friends and fellow musicians Robert Schneider, Bill Doss, and Will Cullen Hart, and the four began producing music together.

[8] Although Schneider was interested in what he described as "high-art Beatlesque production," he aligned with Mangum's preference for a low-quality sound called lo-fi, admitting that "at first it was frustrating, but I came to enjoy it.

[10] The North American tour in support of On Avery Island generated enough money to enable the quartet to move to Athens, Georgia, which was considered a hub for alternative rock and new wave musicians.

Schneider was already producing the Minders' album Hooray for Tuesday when Neutral Milk Hotel members began to arrive, and decided to halt production until In the Aeroplane Over the Sea was finished.

[25] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic compared the album to a "marching band on an acid trip",[26] while Kim Cooper wrote: "the music is like nothing else in the 90s underground".

[30] Ankeny described In the Aeroplane Over the Sea as having a greater emphasis on structure and texture; he further noted that, like On Avery Island, "the songs run continuously together".

[32] Critic Chris DeVille wrote: "On the musical axis, Neutral Milk Hotel veered from piercingly intimate psychedelic campfire sing-alongs to full-band segments that barreled ahead with haphazard grace.

[37] Pitchfork's Mark Richardson wrote that the lyrics are written with childlike wonder, in which mundane interactions are illustrated as fantastical moments, stating, "It's like a children's book or a fairy tale, Where the Wild Things Are on wax.

"[38] And she was born in a bottle rocket, 1929 With wings that ringed around a socket Right between her spine All drenched in milk and holy water Love is another prominent lyrical theme, although this concept takes on different forms.

Sauerteig cites the track "Two-Headed Boy" as an example of this concept, and states the lyrics are a metaphor for two people who unsuccessfully merged into one body and, as a result, feel like they are trapped in an interdependent relationship.

[41] Although there is little concrete information as to the genesis of some of the lyrics, Mangum has stated a major influence was Anne Frank, a teenage girl who died in a Nazi concentration camp.

[49] In addition to Bilheimer's drawings, New York multimedia artist Brian Dewan created the interior artwork found within physical copies of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

[64] In Spin, Erik Himmelsbach wrote that Neutral Milk Hotel's psychedelic, folk-infused music had set them apart from the indie-pop sound of fellow Elephant 6 bands the Olivia Tremor Control and the Apples in Stereo.

[68] In a 2016 article, journalist Luke Winkie said the initial reception was "the standard response to a confusing second album from a band without a preexisting pedigree: distant praise, hedged bets, avoiding the heart at all cost".

Slate alleged that some fans were angry or accused Mangum of being selfish, and others wrote hoax blog posts giving fake details of upcoming tours and other false information.

"[76] Journalist Mark Richardson attempted to explain the album's rise in popularity: "Because [Mangum] was inaccessible, there was no outlet for connection other than the record itself and other fans who shared a passion.

[77] The album, and by extension Neutral Milk Hotel, became common fixtures on online message boards, and early music websites like Pitchfork gave the band an increased level of promotion.

"[64] Memes about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea proliferated on websites like 4chan, reflecting a wave of "hipster" listeners who first discovered the album online, long after the band had broken up.

[26] Marvin Lin of Tiny Mix Tapes found it challenging to concisely explain why the album is so great, and ultimately summarized his review with the statement: "As beautiful as it is disturbing, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is a stunning piece of art that draws you deeper with each listen.

[82] According to Richardson, listeners who dislike the album have often found its lyrics to be awkward, infantile, or disconcerting, and he said Mangum could be perceived as a "privileged dude sharing naive stoner wisdom".

[38] Grantland writer Steven Hyden, once an admirer of the album, felt his appreciation diminish over time, which he ascribed in part to the gradual loss of its original mystique.

[85] Just as the album itself became a meme, the tendency to lavish it with hyperbolic praise also became an online in-joke, exemplified by a 2015 headline from the satirical website ClickHole: "Disgusting: ISIS Just Released a 2-Star Review of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea".

[87] The 33⅓ book about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by author Kim Cooper similarly shares large sales numbers, as it is the second-best-selling entry in the series.

[88] Several websites and magazines have ranked In the Aeroplane Over the Sea as one of the greatest indie rock albums of all time, including Blender and Entertainment Weekly.

[95] According to Pitchfork contributor Mike McGonigal, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea's disparate genres laid the groundwork for a musical template followed by bands such as Bright Eyes and Six Organs of Admittance.

[97] On the album's tenth anniversary, Pitchfork published an article in which indie musicians such as Dan Snaith, Tim Kasher, and fellow Elephant 6 member Kevin Barnes discussed its importance.