Merge Records, 1998
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With a relatively slight body of recorded material and a trajectory as mysterious and uneven as their music, Neutral Milk Hotel became one of the more important and influential bands in indie rock on the strength of how unique and connective their songs were. Centered around the songwriting of founder and key member Jeff Mangum, NMH explored faith, spirituality, sex, and mortality from skewed and unpredictable angles all their own.
They’re known for their experimental sound, which has been described as a mixture of indie rock and psychedelic folk, with lo-fi production. Critics have noted many other musical influences, including Eastern European choral music, Canterbury Sound, circus music, marching band music, musique concrète, drone music, free jazz, and Tropicália. Neutral Milk Hotel songs typically involved simple chord progressions that Mangum would strum on an acoustic guitar. Often as the song progressed, more instruments would be introduced. The band members played a wide range of instruments; on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea for example, conventional instruments like drums and distorted guitars were paired with unique instruments like the singing saw, uilleann pipes, and Digital Horn.