bôa ‎- Tall Snake EP

Serial Experiments Lain was the first anime show that I watched from a source that wasn't the TV and I was stunned that Japanese can draw something else than big eyes and explosions! It still had schoolgirls though! Aside from being an excellent show the opening is something that really stuck with me over the years. I still listen to it today and it is one of few select opening/closing songs from anime shows that I, every now and then, listen (Bonnie Pink's Last Kiss being close second, of all things). First and foremost the song is incredibly catchy but more importantly it's not hyperactive pop or a charade of edgy rock inspired pop. It's a well made, fittingly melancholic, song by a British band that didn't really catch on as time went on. Now that I think of it, I never really bothered with anything else they've made.

Tall Snake EP contains this song in its original form (uncut) and two other versions. One is a Cyberia remix which sounds pretty much like any late 90s electronic-pop garbage and an acoustic version which is great if not even better than the original. The EP also contains two other songs (I don't remember if they were featured in the anime, probably not) that are fun to listen but different from the main showcase.

Get the EP.

There's a video of the song here.