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.