Sunny pop band
the Apples in Stereo were one of the leading lights of the Elephant 6 Recording Company collective, a coterie of likeminded lo-fi indie groups -- including
the Olivia Tremor Control,
Neutral Milk Hotel, and Secret Square -- who shared musicians, ideas, and sensibilities. They were led by singer/songwriter
Robert Schneider, a native of the tiny town of Ruston, LA, also home to
Jeff Mangum (later of
Neutral Milk Hotel) as well as William Cullen Hart and Bill Doss (who formed
the Olivia Tremor Control). Throughout high school, the aspiring musicians -- all influenced by the likes of
the Beatles,
the Zombies,
Pink Floyd, and
Sonic Youth -- exchanged home recordings and played in each other's bands.
After college,
Schneider and
Mangum relocated to Denver, CO, where
Schneider struck up a friendship with fellow
Beach Boys fan and bass player Jim McIntyre; after enlisting drummer Hilarie Sidney and guitarist Chris Parfitt, they formed
the Apples and issued their self-titled debut EP on the Elephant 6 label. To avoid confusion with other similarly named bands, they officially became
the Apples in Stereo for 1995's full-length debut, Fun Trick Noisemaker. In 1996,
Schneider produced
the Olivia Tremor Control's
Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle and later in the year
the Apples issued
Science Faire, a collection of singles and rare material.
The Apples in Stereo returned in the fall of 1997 with
Tone Soul Evolution; shortly after its release, the band signed a distribution deal with Sire and the album was re-released in January of the following year. The excellent Her Wallpaper Reverie followed in the spring of 1999, and a year later the band returned with the equally wonderful
The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone. The group also contributed a song to 2000's Heroes & Villains: Music Inspired by the Powerpuff Girls, and in 2001 released the
Let's Go! EP, which featured the track from Heroes & Villains along with a cover of the
Beach Boys classic of the same name. In fall 2002,
Schneider and
the Apples in Stereo issued their most ambitious effort to date,
Velocity of Sound. Soon afterward the band went on hiatus with members focusing on other projects (
Schneider with
Marbles and
Ulysses, Sidney with
the High Water Marks).
In 2006 they reconvened to record
New Magnetic Wonder for actor Elijah Wood's new label, Simian (in conjunction with Yep Roc). Before the record hit the shelves, the band's lineup suffered a blow with the departure of Sidney in late 2006. Her replacement,
the Deathray Davies frontman
John Dufilho, was added to a band that apart from
Schneider also included ex-
Olivia Tremor Control member Bill Doss on keyboards, guitarist John Hill, and bassist
Eric Allen. The band was given a boost by the appearance of
Schneider, singing "Stephen, Stephen" -- his ode to the handsomeness of Stephen Colbert -- on the infamous "Green Screen Challenge" episode of The Colbert Report.
New Magnetic Wonder,
the Apples in Stereo's first album for Yep Roc, arrived in 2007, followed in 2010 by their seventh studio album,
Travellers in Space and Time. ~ Jason Ankeny