A Thousand Leaves

It followed Washing Machine after almost three years, the longest gap between studio albums to that point. The band used its Lollapalooza money to build Echo Canyon on Murray Street, and Moore said they needed a break after touring non-stop for 16 years. With unlimited time, the songs grew out of extended improvisation, and the EPs Anagrama, Slaapkamers met slagroom and Invito al cielo were recorded alongside. Ranaldo said the band did not want to make another record like Goo.

The title came from Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Hits of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg) was meant to be an instrumental for one of the EPs and became an 11-minute song with vocals. Sunday was first recorded for the 1997 film SubUrbia and re-recorded for the album, and Harmony Korine directed its video with Macaulay Culkin. Marnie Weber made the cover artwork. A double LP came out three weeks ahead of the CD, on 21 April 1998.

It reached number 85 in the US and number 38 in the UK, and had sold 66,000 US copies by 2005. AllMusic's Erlewine called it the band's most challenging and satisfying record in years, and Christgau placed it third on his own Dean's List. The Wire named it record of the year in its critics' poll, though Rolling Stone's Ben Ratliff said it sounds like a demo.