I'll take Poorly Remembered Bands for 200, Alex

November 13, 2011 12:21 PM

I'm trying to remember the name of a band. They make slow, trippy, synth-y pop songs that are almost ambient. I'm pretty sure they have a silly multi-word name, along the lines of Neutral Milk Hotel or Natural Snow buildings, though it isn't either of those. I remember getting a distinctly hippy/granola vibe from their album art and song titles. They're recent, from the 2000s. That's all I can remember. I lost my whole music library a while ago and their name has been on the tip of my tongue for months.
posted by Rinku to media & arts (43 answers total)

Album Leaf?
posted by idlethink at 12:22 PM on November 13, 2011

Death Cab for Cutie? Vampire Weekend?
posted by insectosaurus at 12:27 PM on November 13, 2011

TV on the Radio?
posted by melissasaurus at 12:27 PM on November 13, 2011

Apples in Stereo?
posted by iconomy at 12:28 PM on November 13, 2011

Olivia Tremor Control?
posted by unknowncommand at 12:28 PM on November 13, 2011

Possibly Hooverphonic, whose albums include "Blue Wonder Power Milk" and "The Magnificent Tree."

Songs of theirs you might have heard: 2Wicky, Mad About You and Battersea.
posted by ErikaB at 12:31 PM on November 13, 2011

Yeah, OTC is also with Elephant 6. List of some Elephant 6 bands.
posted by iconomy at 12:31 PM on November 13, 2011

Explosions in the Sky?
posted by esmerelda_jenkins at 12:33 PM on November 13, 2011

M83?
posted by Sys Rq at 12:33 PM on November 13, 2011

From the 90s, but maybe Cibo Matto?
posted by catwash at 12:35 PM on November 13, 2011

Boards of Canada?
posted by pepcorn at 12:38 PM on November 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

From your description, I'm thinking it's The Microphones.
posted by weewooweewoo at 12:40 PM on November 13, 2011

Flaming Lips?
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 12:44 PM on November 13, 2011

Black Moth Super Rainbow?
posted by Merzbau at 12:45 PM on November 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

The Polyphonic Spree?
posted by triggerfinger at 12:47 PM on November 13, 2011

Seconding Black Moth Super Rainbow.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:48 PM on November 13, 2011

Architecture in Helsinki?
posted by smoke at 12:52 PM on November 13, 2011

It's none of those so far, though there are a lot of great bands there. Perhaps I should have clarified that this isn't a famous band by any means. They pretty much do one kind of song, I think - heavy, synth-y, drone-y ambient stuff.
posted by Rinku at 12:56 PM on November 13, 2011

Spiritualized, with the multi-word memory being the album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space?
posted by StephenF at 12:57 PM on November 13, 2011

Godspeed You! Black Emperor?
posted by thirteenkiller at 12:57 PM on November 13, 2011

Nightmares on Wax?
posted by stopgap at 1:03 PM on November 13, 2011

Telefon Tel Aviv (and even if not, you should listen to them because their songs are exactly what you're describing.)
posted by tatiana wishbone at 1:05 PM on November 13, 2011

Thievery Corporation?
posted by yoga at 1:11 PM on November 13, 2011

Just throwing a few out there:
Circulatory System
I Monster
posted by yaymukund at 1:13 PM on November 13, 2011

Acid Mothers Temple?
posted by unknowncommand at 1:14 PM on November 13, 2011

Stars of the Lid side project the Dead Texan?
posted by Adventurer at 1:14 PM on November 13, 2011

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros?
posted by newfers at 1:16 PM on November 13, 2011

Dead Hollywood Stars?
posted by Zack_Replica at 1:17 PM on November 13, 2011

The Brian Jonestown Massacre?
posted by unknowncommand at 1:18 PM on November 13, 2011

Elf Power?
posted by zem at 1:25 PM on November 13, 2011

Broken Social Scene?
posted by BobbyVan at 1:32 PM on November 13, 2011

The Helio Sequence? American Analog Set?
posted by LionIndex at 1:37 PM on November 13, 2011

Crap, I forgot about the hippie/granola album art/song titles vibe when I suggested the Dead Texan. White Rainbow? Song/album titles include "Mystic Prism of the Eternal Now" and "Mind Haze Is Clear Delight."
posted by Adventurer at 1:38 PM on November 13, 2011

Hammock?
posted by empath at 1:45 PM on November 13, 2011

Animal Collective?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:53 PM on November 13, 2011

Do Make Say Think?
Valley of the Giants?
The Most Serene Republic?
posted by Sys Rq at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2011

Hypatia Lake?
posted by Benjy at 2:07 PM on November 13, 2011

Air?
posted by heyho at 2:21 PM on November 13, 2011

Animal Collective?
Cut Copy?
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 2:24 PM on November 13, 2011

(I Am) The World Trade Center?
posted by feloniousmonk at 2:26 PM on November 13, 2011

I bet you're thinking of Brightback Morning Light. (Warning: May display an unrelated advertisement before the tune actually begins, and I'm not sure why/when YouTube links started including ads.)
posted by Rewind at 2:42 PM on November 13, 2011

Lemon Jelly? Can't link to anything but I'm sure you can look them up.
posted by altolinguistic at 2:44 PM on November 13, 2011

Got it! Thanks so much. I'll also be checking out some of the other bands I hadn't heard of, too. :)
posted by Rinku at 2:46 PM on November 13, 2011