With All the Nations Airports, originally released in 1996, Archers of Loaf were uncompromising in their efforts to push themselves in new directions. They delivered an album that included some of the more simple indie pop songs that had made them famous as well as four instrumental tracks, layered tape loops and even a solo piano song, but the song structures became much more complex. These songs provided a wide range of color and emotion but somehow none of the songs seemed out of place on the album.