North Carolina's indie bands had a quirkiness all their own, and none more so than Chapel Hill's Archers of Loaf. Part of that city's fertile college scene, they initially had a harder, rawer sound than their peers, coupling it with cryptic lyrics and strong melodic hooks. After rejecting an offer from Madonna's Maverick label, they worked with Elektra in 1996. However, their major-label debut, All the Nation's Airports, was an ambitious concept album with prog-rock overtones. They broke up in 1998 but began playing reunion shows in 2011, and they haven't ruled out the idea of new material.