Principally recorded at Elephant 6, Dane Terry and Marisa Bissinger's house, Denver, Colorado between February and May 1995.

Like their Elephant 6 labelmates and kindred spirits Olivia Tremor Control's Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, Neutral Milk Hotel's debut, On Avery Island, is an inscrutable concept album, a chronicle of an insular world told in a remarkably universal language. A fuzzy masterpiece of experimental lo-fi recording, the album wraps its ragged pop songs in ribbons of loops, marching-band squawks, and Casio noodling; the opener, "Song Against Sex," is as much a manifesto as a kickoff, a self-propelled marvel hopped up on rapid-fire wordplay and a stunningly ramshackle melody punctuated by bloated trombone moans. Throughout the record, Jeff Mangum's wheels threaten to fly off at any time -- his songs are cryptic and crazed, his ideas fast and furious, and together they force the home-recording concept out of the basement and into a brave new world. ~ Jason Ankeny

Though singer/songwriter/bandleader Jeff Magnum would refine his brilliant, quirky psych-folk to perfection on the majestic IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA, ON AVERY ISLAND--the first offering from Neutral Milk Hotel--is full of rich rewards. Magnum distinguishes himself from his fellow Elephant 6 cohorts Apples In Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control by trading sunshiny acid-dipped Beatles-esque pop for a somewhat edgier sound, centered (perhaps ironically) on acoustic guitar and introspective (albiet surreal and associative) lyrics.

Punky squalls of distorted guitar, brass arrangements, a thick, muted rhythm section, and an onslaught of swirling, otherworldly noise cascade around Magnum's clean acoustic guitar and strained, plaintive vocals. The resulting stew is equal parts sensitive guitar troubadour and lo-fi indie pop a la Guided By Voices. Tunes such as "Song Against Sex," "Someone Is Waiting," and the beautiful, ghostly "Three Peaches" prove Magnum a powerful songwriter--one who employs enough lyrical sheen and existential confusion to make the songs challenging, and enough hooks to keep them accessible. The band stakes out impressive new sonic territory with this release, making them one of the brightest stars in the Elephant 6 constellation.