Department Of Eagles: In Ear Park

Department

Of Eagles' first effort, The Cold Nose (a.k.a. The Whitey On The Moon UK LP), was an unassuming collection of

down-tempo instrumentals, squiggly electronic pop, and even the odd hip-hop

goof—it was fun in a "friends fucking around" way, but too unfocused to

be memorable. If In Ear Park sounds like the work of a different band, that's because it

is: In between, songwriter Daniel Rossen joined avant-folk group Grizzly Bear,

then returned to DOE co-founder Fred Nicolaus with multi-instrumentalist Chris

Taylor and percussionist Chris Bear in tow. (With three-quarters of Grizzly

Bear represented, it may as well be rechristened Department Of Ed Droste's Not

Here.) Although Rossen supposedly used In Ear Park to explore songs outside the mold

of his main gig, there's little evidence here to bear that out. The title

track's woodwind flutters and acoustic trills, the haunted doo-wop of "No One

Does It Like You," the minor-chord gallop of "Around The Bay"—all readily

replicate Yellow House's shifting, autumnal moods and dizzying atmospherics, much to their

credit. There are minor quibbles: Rossen, a fan of skewed pop pastiche in the

tradition of Van Dyke Parks, translates his affinity for Tin Pan Alley too

literally on the cheesy "Teenagers," and cannibalizes his own "Little Brother"

on "Phantom Other." But in the absence of a new Grizzly Bear album, In Ear

Park provides a

valuable service while showcasing Rossen as a skilled composer and arranger in

his own right.