stars, and wrote: "Neutral Milk Hotel's debut is a trippy experience, at times downright crowded with noise. But at the core of every song is a solid, tangible melody, the kind that rings through your brain all day long." The Mike Goldsmith of NME gave it an 8/10, and said: "Neutral Milk Hotel can convert miserable-as-sin introspection into folky mantras that bore into your skull like a well-aimed power drill." On Avery Island was ranked at number thirty-five on The Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll for 1996. After the release of On Avery Island, Mangum recruited three musicians to tour with: Julian Koster, Jeremy Barnes, and Scott Spillane. On April 28, 1997, Neutral Milk Hotel began a national tour, during which the band members learned to play as a unit. The On Avery Island tour generated enough money for the band members to afford to move to Athens, Georgia, where a large group of Elephant 6 musicians were living. By the spring of 1997, Mangum had written and demoed nearly every song for a second album. He shared the demos with his bandmates before they moved to Denver to record the album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Retrospective commentary Since its release, On Avery Island continued to receive positive reviews. Jason Ankeny of AllMusic described On Avery Island as "a fuzzy masterpiece of experimental lo-fi recording." The Rolling Stone Album Guide noted that despite the production limitations and underdeveloped lyrics, the album succeeds in blending multiple genres into a unique sound. Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork highlighted the songs "You've Passed" and "Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone" as some of the best songs in Neutral Milk Hotel's discography, and wrote: "The abrupt transitions between perfect pop melodies and gaseous balls of noise lend the album a certain wildfire charm." Many critics have compared On Avery Island to Neutral Milk Hotel's second album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. The Guardian Michael Hann felt On Avery Island was the weaker of the two albums, and wrote: "You can hear Mangum groping towards the realisation of his vision on the likes of "Song Against Sex" or "A Baby for Pree," but never quite finding it." Chris Morgan of Uproxx echoed this remark, and noted that On Avery Island is quieter and less ambitious than its successor. Some critics believe On Avery Island cacophonous sound and abstract lyrics served as a blueprint