In Ear Park, the second effort from Brooklyn duo Department of Eagles, is everything you could hope for from a sophomore album: it’s dense, engaging, and (most importantly) an improvement upon the band’s earlier work. Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus, two former NYU roommates, have sanded down the trip-hop edges of The Whitey on the Moon UK LP (re-released in the U.S. as The Cold Nose) into a more serious, progressive folk sound, reminiscent of Rossen’s other well-known project, Grizzly Bear.
One look at the production credits and the results seem inevitable—Chris Bear and Chris Taylor, two other members of Grizzly Bear, helped construct the LP. Standouts like “Phantom Other” and “Around the Bay” which have the same lo-fi yet lush production that made Yellow House—the Grizzly Bear debut—so memorable, not to mention fantastic songwriting. (Nicolaus’ “Teenagers” also shines on the album, typified by an infectious, treble-ridden guitar part in the chorus.)
Despite the aural similarities however, distinctions between In Ear Park and Yellow House still persist. The collaborative nature of the album is clear (both Nicolaus and Rossen share songwriting credits on every song), but the group harmonizing so prevalent in Grizzly Bear’s music is largely absent. It’s no surprise then that the band garners comparisons to the solo work of Paul McCartney and Van Dyke Parks (with a hint of Phil Spector) as opposed to more contemporary groups.
Likewise, the New York Times reports that In Ear Park consists of songs that Rossen either found “too personal” to bring to Grizzly Bear, ideas that the band wasn’t interested in, or numbers written by Nicolaus. For instance, “In Ear Park” is about walks that Rossen used to take with his now-deceased father (to whom the album is dedicated) in a Los Angeles park. “It was a way to put memories down on record in a way that I couldn’t forget them,” Rossen says, a good enough reason to keep these songs within a smaller collaborative circle.
You’re unlikely to forget these songs soon either. Find yourself a copy—In Ear Park is a gem.
Voice’s Choices: “Phantom Other,” “Around the Bay”
