2008 Woodie Awards
'In Ear Park' parks in 2008 top 10
DALE W. EISINGER
Culture Editor
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Culture
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Fortunately, Rossen's new release with his first label project, Department of Eagles, gives the guitarist and singer a chance to shine in a more direct light.
Fred Nicolaus acts as the Garfunkul to Rossen's Simon (which is a strange analogy considering Rossen is nearly a dead-ringer look-alike for a "Greatest Hits, Etc." era Simon) harmonizing guitar parts over Rossen's stuttering vocals. Rossen and Nicolaus - who started making music together as college roommates - took their sweet time with their second full-length album, releasing the new "In Ear Park" a full five years after their first effort under the Department of Eagles name. Rossen's work in Department of Eagles previously sought the microchip etch with mainly electronica and a myriad of other influences across the spectrum.
While the attention to tempo and detail remains, the sound on "In Ear Park" sounds far more organic, far more developed than the band's first full-length, "The Cold Nose."
The all-over-the-place inspiration of that first record has been focalized to a more personal level, resulting in songs that pass dreamily through some of the most unconventional structures while holding a firm place of command.
Rossen's signature chord voicing and folk revivalism resounds throughout the album. His voice, too, contributes some of the most unique timbres to "In Ear Park:" wavering, completely on pitch, but fundamentally unsure of itself.
It's a strange dynamic for any singer and Rossen makes it work. Poetic and driven, gravelly and somehow still gentle, without this vocal element, much would be lost. Dedicated to Rossen's late father, themes edge from the sorrowful to the sanguine.
Nicolaus's playing acts much the same: haunting, foreign colors grace the breadth of the album, sounding at times like tropical steel drums, like lap steels and like other unrecognizable shades.
It would be foolish to not contrast this output with that of Grizzly Bear. Where that band looks to baroque-folk and psychedelia for much of its ornamentation, "In Ear Park" keeps things more directed.
If you've heard Rossen's cover of Jo-Jo's "Too Little, Too Late," leaked earlier this year, you've probably gotten a sense of where this record is headed comparatively: less orchestral, more personal, choruses not quite as towering. However, fans of that band will find much to love here. There are differently Grizzly-esque moments (the builds on "Waves of Rye," the falling guitar in "Around the Bay," the banjo on "Balmy Night") considering the contributions of Grizzly's Chris Taylor (co-producer with Rossen) and percussionist Chris Bear.
It's a more focused song-based approach to music writing but still gauzy, still driven by insistence on themes, albeit hazily. Rossen's time in Grizzly Bear has shaped the sound of Department of Eagles resolutely, despite its meandering from original mish-mashes of genres. Ultimately, the result is an ethereal pop record with roots in folk and dreamy doo-wop - a sublime contribution from Rossen, Nicolaus and all else involved.
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