at a glance...

Hometown: Ruston, LA
Year Formed: early 1990s

Members:
Jeff Magnum -guitar, vocals, organ, bowed fuzz bass, etc.
Scott Spillane -trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, euphonium
Julian Koster -singing saw, bowed banjo, accordion, etc.
Jeremy Barnes -drums, organ

Bands in the family:
Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control

There's a sadness in these songs that floats in from behind the music, hiding in the melody, convincing you that you're the one feeling all weepy. Don't be fooled - it's not you, it's them.

Neutral Milk Hotel, and more importantly singer and songwriter Jeff Mangum, have grasped the nostalgic, melancholic powers of melody with an ease that would turn Brian Wilson green. Like Wilson, Mangum sings of his lost childhood, albeit through surreal, foggy memories that recall the confusion as well as the innocence of the preteen years. "When you were young you were the king of carrot flowers/And how you built a tower tumbling through the trees," Mangum sings on the album's opener, "The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One." Okay, so it sounds a little weird. But wait 'til you hear it with that tune. You'll understand. You might even get a little misty.

"Two Headed Boy" and "Holland, 1945" are full of sad remembrances, some personal, some seemingly borrowed, but all bursting with a melodic ache that makes you want to share. Magnus' strength as a writer is that he doesn't work to make his words make sense, rather he lets the music make sense of them for you.

If you like Neutral Milk Hotel, check out:
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci Barafundle
The Boo Radleys Wake Up!
Apples In Stereo Tone Soul Evolution
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds
Palace Music Lost Blues and Other Songs
Trailer Bride Smelling Salts
Vic Chesnutt The Salesman and Bernadette

psst...you might wanna check out our indie rock abode for more features on (guess what) indie rock bands.

--jf