Like many of its Elephant 6 counterparts (Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo), Neutral Milk Hotel has its origins in the small town of Ruston, LA. Jeff Mangum has always been Neutral Milk Hotel’s central figure, and he’s used that moniker for everything from his own solo excursions to marching band-like musical happenings. Taking on history, faith, and spirituality as some of its central themes, the group’s aim was not as much to reinterpret these themes as to rediscover them. The result is very personal and isn’t always a pretty, stream-of-consciousness account of what was gained from the experience.