April 29 was a momentous day for 90’s kids and music aficionados alike, as the members of long-defunct indie band Neutral Milk Hotel announced they would begin touring again. The statement comes 15 years after Neutral Milk Hotel played their last live show as a band, and on the heels of a string of sold-out solo tours featuring frontman Jeff Mangum. Mangum, a notorious recluse, only resurfaced within the past few years, first performing short sets at scattered benefit shows, and then eventually moving onto full-fledged tours, usually including Julian Koster or Scott Spillane, two of his bandmates, as supporting acts.

For the Williamsburg scene, Neutral Milk Hotel going back on tour is akin to The Beatles reuniting. NMH’s sophomore album, 1998’s “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea,” is a cult classic and a masterpiece; 15 years after its initial release, there is still nothing in this world that sounds like it. Full of bizarre imagery, heartfelt lyrics and singing saws, it is an album about life, death and Anne Frank. One of the most beloved albums in indie music, it is the kind of record that people give to their friends and say, “You have to listen to this.” I was 17 and in the car with some relatives going to the grocery store, when my uncle Greg pulled out his iPhone and said, “I think you’d like this song.” It was “The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1,” the first track on “Aeroplane,” and I’m not exaggerating when I say that it changed my life.

So that’s what I’m doing, Release readers. I want to be your friend, and I want to share music with you. In the event that you have never listened to Neutral Milk Hotel before, here is a list of songs to help you ease into the experience. NMH are, at their core, a beautifully bizarre band with some really out-there tracks that you should definitely investigate. But for now, we’ll stick with the more accessible tunes.

1. “Holland, 1945” from “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” – This is easily the most accessible song NMH has ever released, and the one that sounds the most like a traditional pop song. It’s upbeat, catchy and captures the essence of the album: optimism in the face of tragedy. After Anne Frank dies at Bergen-Belsen, Mangum imagines her as a “little boy in Spain, playing pianos filled with flames.”

2. “The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1” from “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” – Clocking in at two minutes, this is a prime example of how sweetly Mangum looks at love and burgeoning sexuality: “And from above you, how I sank into your soul/Into that secret place where no one dares to go.”

3. “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” from “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” – One of the most beautiful songs you will ever hear in your life. It is triumphant and melancholic, full of awe, wonder and life. When Mangum wails, “can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all,” you feel grateful to be on this messy, amazing planet.

4. “Ghost” from “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” – All the triumph of the titular track with none of the melancholy, “Ghost” is the musical equivalent of shouting from a rooftop. You will go, and you will never be afraid.

5. “Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone” from “On Avery Island” – “Avery” is much more lo-fi than “Aeroplane,” and this is lo-fi at its best. “I just want to dance in your tangles” is a typical Mangum lyric. It has no base in logic, but it feels perfect.

6. “Two-Headed Boy” from “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” – This song features just Mangum and his acoustic guitar, but the heartbreaking passion in his voice makes this just as powerful as any other full-band song on the album.