Harmony Rockets

For all intents and purposes, Harmony Rockets was really the New York-based avant-pop unit Mercury Rev in disguise; containing the same core players — primarily singer/guitarist Jonathan Donahue and lead guitarist Grasshopper — the side project allowed the group to pursue their most arcane musical ideas to their fullest. The first Harmony Rockets release, 1995's Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel Void, was a single 42-minute ambient noise piece, a portrait of the group at their most defiantly experimental; the follow-up, 1997's Golden Ticket EP, moved in the opposite direction to offer a disco cover of a song from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.