Elephant 6 were bedroom musicians before it was easy, and I loved discovering new things about this unique little corner of lo-fi indie history. No new Jeff Magnum interview (naturally), but a lot of other musicians lent their voices to this well researched deep dive into a collective of musicians whose influence still reverberates.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this musical study.

Everyone has dreams of success. Especially the success of being a rock star, or why not Rock God. Fans, fame, fortune and everything that goes with it. People literally kill themselves trying to get that kind of success. Some achieve success and live a life in the limelight, and do fine. Some are crushed by success, that feeling of is that all there is weighs too much on them. And others just back away, no excuse given, no need to share, just thank you good night, maybe I'll see you again. Sometimes success is sitting in your own room, with a guitar that has two strings playing songs into a 4-track recorder, not worring about how the guy in the last place at Coachella is going to see you with 80,000 other fans.

Endless Endless: A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery by Adam Clair tells the story of Elephant 6, a music collective featuring bands like the Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Elf Power and the best known Neutral Milk Hotel, with lead singer Jeff Mangum. At the peak of Neutral Milk Hotel's success, following a tour for their album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Mr. Mangum stepped away from the band and the world of music leaving a hole in fans and bandmates lives. Mr. Clair in this book seeks to find an answer to this question, and also what is Elephant 6 Recording Company, and how could it go on.

Mr. Clair has done hundreds of interviews, many quite personal, far more than I expected for a rock profile book. Bands and member come and go, instruments are shared, traded, and members hop from project to project depending on need. Mr. Clair has a very firm hand on the narrative, and works hard at making everything clear. As with any music bio, time, pharmaceuticals, illness, grudges, and deaths make this difficult. No one likes to look the bad guy, and people have a hard time remembering who did what in a studio, or bedroom recording after 7 hours of trying to get the perfect sound. Again though, Mr. Clair has done an exceptional job starting at the small town of Rustan, Louisiana, to Denver, Athens, and all over the globe in telling this story, and keeping things together.

Perfect for fans of any of these bands, or of the Lo-fi movement in general. Also of interest for people looking to find others who think, and feel and like that same things that they like. It's nice to think that a shared liking for a band, could lead to making a band of your own. Creativity is fantastic and this book is a real tribute to it.