4.0 out of 5 stars
Odds 'n Sods, July 31, 2011
Department of Eagles is one of the more unique bands I've had the pleasure of discovering in the last few years. Their second album In Ear Park remains a constant presence in my CD player and on my iPod. Anyone familiar with Grizzy Bear will recognize Daniel Rossen's distinct voice and song writing style.
Archive 2003-2006 takes several tracks from early in the band's career and organizes them as a series of "sketches." These tracks, while sonically interesting, don't have quite the creativity of some of the other tracks on the album. In addition to these sketches, the bulk of the material is composed of rejected or unfinished tracks from the aforementioned In Ear Park. These tracks are the reason to purchase Archives. Producer/Grizzly Bear Bassist Chris Taylor adds sophistication and complexity to the mix on tracks like the cool, sunny-day-driving-with-the-windows-down sound of "While We're Young" and the pressing urgency and jazz/punk fusion of "Flip." Taylor's addition to group's sound could really qualify him as a third member. Fred Nicolaus, Rossen's song writing partner and the other half of DOE offers sublime backing vocals and multi-instumentalism on most tracks and is clearly indispensable to the process.
Overall, Archive does not contain the same cohesive album "feel" of In Ear Park and is more on par with 2003's Cold Nose in terms of quirky song-writing. However, for anyone familiar with the band, Archive is not something to be missed, if only for the tracks left off of In Ear Park.
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