Department Of Eagles

Formerly known as Whitey On The Moon, NYC’s Department Of Eagles continually mix and mash up genres to create a schizophrenic symphony. After nearly four years of making music, which includes two well-received EPs and a handful of name changes, this duo have finally dropped their debut full-length. The Whitey On The Moon UK LP is a brave and sometimes foolish record that refuses to play it safe. Members Iron Chrysalis and Butterfly Emerging obviously share many influences between them; however their interests prove a little too conflicting to make this a winning combination. There are too many changes of pace where the album feels it is stopping and starting again and again. For instance, the garage rocker "Romo Goth” is placed in between the Broadcast-like "The Piano In The Bathtub” and "Gravity’s Greatest Victory/Rex Snorted Coke,” a piss-poor rendition of DJ Shadow. There is also a need to recognise that these two are not capable of just doing anything they please. The attempt to recreate the Streets’ Essex brand of MCing ("Forty Dollar Rug”) is unsettlingly embarrassing, even if it is supposed to be a joke (it’s hard to tell). While there is an undeniable talent amongst these two musicians, it’s all really a matter of pinpointing their strongest feature, which is definitely not hip-hop.