I have the two LPs and the two EPs in mp3 format downloaded from emusic. I like them, but none of them as much as Neutral Milk Hotel’s In An Aeroplane Over the Sea which is a little crunchier and more experimental.
I much prefer Castaways and Cutouts right now, especially the song “A Cautionary Tale.”
Interestingly enough, I was at a wedding a few weeks ago and the guy sitting next to me mentioned he was in a band. My ears perked up a bit. Then he mentioned he was just signed to Beggar’s Group/Matador. My ears perked up a lot. Then he mentioned that he shared a manager with The Decemberists and The Walkmen…
Alright I just listened to “Aeroplane over the Sea” and “Oh Comely” (which my roommate plays all the time - I just never knew who it was by.) Oh Comely is kind of boring, monotonous guitar strumming and under-instrumentalized (for my taste at any rate.) Aeroplane bored me also. Neither were bad songs, but just not as eccentric and anachronistic-sounding as the Decemberists. I kind of see the similarities between Jeff Mangum and Colin Meloy, but Meloy’s voice is higher and his accent more eccentric (apparently a Midwesterner trying to imitate an Irishman.) Meloy pronounces his R’s in the weirdest way (you know what I mean.)
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea works very well as a complete album, which is one of the things that makes me prefer it to either Decemberists albums. Like I said before, I find both Decemberists albums sort of inconsistent, and I get very bored through the middle of Her Majesty… but In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is a wonderfully complete cohesive album that manages to cover a lot of musical territory. If you get a chance you should sit down and give the whole thing a listen.