Department Of Eagles

What was originally intended to precede 2008's In Ear Park has become the stirring follow-up to it. The latest release from Department of Eagles, Archive 2003 ― 2006 is an intimate, vulnerable collection of music from the vaults, recorded prior to the release of In Ear Park. Opening track "Practice Room Sketch 1" could be the score of a Hitchcock film, and while the album never lightens up, it captivates so much that it doesn't need to. And why should it? An experiment in texture, Archives 2003 ― 2006, at times, is bulky and difficult to navigate, but is guided by Rossen's clear cutting vocals, particularly on "Deadly Disclosure." The four-part "Practice Room Sketch" series was composed and recorded in the music practice rooms at New York University while Department of Eagles duo Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear notability) and Fred Nicolaus were students there. "Brightest Minds" is particularly triumphant thanks to a string section, and "While We're Young," a crowded, urgent summoning, is about as polished as it gets on this unlikely symphony. Not only was it a wise move to release it after they proved themselves with more sophisticated sounding work beforehand, it was an even wiser move to let this album see the light of day.