Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel is an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. Later members included Jeremy Barnes (drums), Scott Spillane (horns) and Julian Koster (banjo, bass guitar, musical saw, accordion, synthesizer). Additional contributors included Robert Schneider (producer, instrumentalist), Laura Carter (zanzithophone) and other members of the Elephant 6 Collective. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics, and eclectic instrumentation.

The first release under the Neutral Milk Hotel moniker was the 1994 EP Everything Is, a short collection of tracks featuring Mangum. On the band's full-length debut album On Avery Island, which followed shortly thereafter, Mangum was joined by Schneider, who contributed production and instrumentation. Neutral Milk Hotel released In the Aeroplane Over the Sea in 1998, which became their most well-known and critically acclaimed album. Although the album did not meet commercial success at the time of release, it has gone on to sell over 100,000 copies and is often ranked as one of the greatest albums of its time. Despite growing popularity, the group disbanded in 1999 after Mangum became disenchanted with touring and the music press, later having a nervous breakdown.

Neutral Milk Hotel is a part of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, based in Athens, Georgia. The band was one of Elephant 6's three first projects, alongside The Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control.

From Wikipedia