Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel was the vehicle for reclusive singer-songwriter Jeff Mangum, one of the founders of the Elephant 6 record label and collective. They released a debut album in 1996, called On Avery Island, which showcased the project's lo-fi sound, a punctuating horn section, and Mangum's passionate, emotional voice.

Second album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is the band's masterpiece. Released in 1998 after Magnum recruited a band to back him, it has since become a cult classic, and has been nominated as one of the greatest indie-rock albums ever.

Since then, Neutral Milk Hotel have gone on an indefinite hiatus: the secretive Mangum only appears very rarely, and does not seem to be keen on resurrecting the band. The other group members are now involved with projects such as The Gerbils, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, The Music Tapes and The Apples In Stereo.