In Ear Park [Vinyl]

Department of Eagles | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (November 11, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 4ad / Ada
• ASIN: B001GC9VWY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,132 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. In Ear Park

2. No One Does It Like You

3. Phantom Other

4. Teenagers

5. Around the Bay

6. Herringbone

7. Classical Records

8. Waves of Rye

9. Therapy Car Noise

10. Floating on the Lehigh

11. Balmy Night

Editorial Reviews

Department Of Eagles is Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear) and Fred Nicolaus. A colorful and expansive album; an intimate collection of songs. Much of the material Daniel brought to this record draws on memories of his father who died in 2007, and to whom "In Ear Park" is dedicated. Many of Fred's contributions relate to similar themes of nostalgia and mortality, giving the album an elegiac feel at times. "In Ear Park" is also full of joyous moments, lush production, and concise songwriting. "Department Of Eagles make scratchy, lo-fi Casio-pop with hooks as big as arena anthems" - New York Magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Beautiful, October 10, 2008

By 

LP "BillyBatts" (Anywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Ear Park (Audio CD)

For those who may not be familiar with contemporary improvisational music, there is a label out of Munich, Germany run by Manfred Eicher called ECM. Since 1969, they have produced some of the most beautiful and in some cases, the most highly influential records the genre has to offer. The records are generally done in roughly 3 to 4 days, leaving little room for studio tampering. Eicher is tyrannically opposed to overdubbing and over-producing, allowing the music to retain a very spontaneous atmosphere, as well as a very organic one. The music in most cases, reflects a wider world influence infusing not only elements of modern North American jazz, but classical European harmony and world folk.

The new record from Grizzly Bear member Daniel Rossen and long time musical collaborator Fred Nicolaus reminds me of one of Eicher's records. It's sparse arrangements coupled with dense harmonies and often-shambolic rhythms, brings to mind early Ralph Towner records. The chord structures used here are certainly not the generic ones found on most pop records, as with Grizzly Bear's Yellow House, chords are often realized beyond their mere 3 note applications and extend into the upper regions of the chord's implied harmony (extended 7th's and 9th's). The vocals are recorded in such a way that separating them from the music is impossible. They almost function as an instrument, that's not to detract from the lyrical content, but instead, enhances the experience by placing you as a listener right there with them throughout the whole record.

Discussing the lyrical content of this record would probably be a disservice, mostly because it really does transcend words for the most part. Having said that, the album was dedicated to Rossen's late father and carries with it topic matter that may not have been suitable for a Grizzly Bear project.

Another great strength of this record (along with Yellow House) is the "repeated listen" factor. It is recorded in such a way that the subtlety of the music will not reveal itself upon first listen. There are myriad vocal effects, reverb, and instrumental textures that are layered in a such a way that warrant this music to be experienced alone with a set of hi-fi headphones.

This is record to explore, live with, and more than likely, will be used as a reference 20 years from now as to where independent "pop" music was at the time and who were it's innovators.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Album Akin to Grizzly Bear, August 26, 2009

By 

Ian A. Schultz (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Ear Park (Audio CD)

While Grizzly Bear has been generating quite a stir, this album appears to have, for the most part, slipped right past the radar. At least, this was the case for me. I picked up this album recently and was impressed with the ability of these two artists to layer simple sounds to create a complex arrangement. I think that most of these songs are best in the context of the album as a whole, in other words the one thing this album doesn't really have is many "hit" songs . That is not to say it is completely void of them however. The track "No One Does It Like You" is particularly good with some catchy hooks. Neither is the lack of hits a bad thing. Albums like this one are best appreciated when you can sit down and devote 3/4 of an hour to listening to the whole thing.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars first review?, October 7, 2008

By 

Jay James (the bay, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Ear Park (Audio CD)

album of the year...and this is the first review? writing about music is ridiculous - listen to it and love it!