The Red and Black

Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Out & About

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DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES

In Ear Park

Atmospheric rock group Grizzly Bear may have taken the indie world by storm in recent years, but its hype hasn't kept frontman Daniel Rossen from focusing his insatiable creative drive in new directions.

What most people don't realize is that Department of Eagles, Rossen's side project with college friend Fred Nicolaus, has existed since 2001 - making the group three years Grizzly Bear's senior.

Newest release "In Ear Park" is a paradox of sorts.

To be sure, it reflects the duo's longevity in the most positive light possible, offering a tautly constructed set of incredibly complex material.

The paradox lies in how smoothly the album flows. Each song possesses an aura of weightlessness that betrays its density.

Take the opening title track, for instance: Within the first 20 seconds, the song transforms a simplistic folk progression into a flurry of cascading guitars that sounds strangely akin to a harp.

As the above paradox would imply, it takes a few listens for the album's sheer majesty to truly sink in. But upon further inspection, various nuances begin to unfold.

The harmonies and progressions reveal themselves to be extraordinarily advanced, modulating to different key signatures and incorporating chords not typically used in traditional rock or folk.

Remarkably, the sharp harmonic deviations never feel forced. All of them form a curiously logical whole, anchored all the while by gorgeous vocal harmonies, shimmering guitars and ethereal textures.

Though "In Ear Park" exudes a seamless overall feel, the songs themselves capture distinct moods.

"Teenagers" is cinematic and sweeping. "Phantom Other" is sparse and haunting. "Waves of Rye" sounds as epic and wide-open as the ocean its title so aptly references.

Meanwhile, the understated acoustic groundwork and gypsy pulse of "Around the Bay" is invaded by reverb-heavy lead guitar and a manic string section.

One of the album's shortest pieces, "Classical Records," appears languid at first but is quickly undercut with disjointed sections of clanging footsteps and skittering backbeats, making it the biggest head-scratcher on the record.

VERDICT: The sound may not be too far removed from Grizzly Bear, but with "In Ear Park," Department of Eagles have undoubtedly struck a gold mine.

- John Barrett

VIC CHESNUTT, ELF POWER and the AMORPHUS STRUMS

Dark Developments

Tired of the mundane sounds of today's pop and rap chart toppers? If so, the new tunes from Athens' local musicians Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums are the perfect alternative.

While normally recording separately, the trio combined to produce an old school rock sound with a modern day twist and meaningful lyrics.

Not only are the songs good by themselves, but the album (including the actual cover itself ) conveys an overall meaning. From the album art, to the lyrics, and to the album's name, "Dark Developments," an underlying message appears about America - one which University students are sure to notice.

The timing of the release, whether ironic or not, comes as a mysterious darkness looms over America's economic future along with an intense presidential election in high gear.


Furthermore, the album fits with college students who are determining which direction they want their life to go. Students are dealing with the developing future's dark mysteries, along with constant pressure to succeed from themselves and their peers.

Though the nine songs may seem low in quantity, they grab a first-time listener's attention and have them backtracking to get a better understanding of the lyrics. The first track "Mystery" is more an intro than song and acts as a prologue. The next song "Little F*cker" pertains to ridding one's self of a nuisance in his or her life, and then is followed by "And How" which asks questions of who, what, when, and where after the problem is removed.

"Teddy Bear," "We Are Mean," "Stop the Horse," "Bilocating Dog," and "Mad Passion of the Stoie" hit on many different types of people that are effected by the mystery or unknown becomes reality. Such lines as "I declare that everywhere we are mean" and "you always hurt the one you love" accompanied with descriptions of how society is eroding away due to the dark developments separating citizens rather than uniting them.

"Phil the Fiddler" ends the album by bringing everyone together in the wake of the darkness. The song joins all the different societal classes together "in the jubilation, of the fracas fray." Thus, spreading the message the detrimental developments do not single out people in a society based on looks, jobs, and gender - but everyone because a society is a team and everyone must work together for an overall success, whether it is the University's faculty and student body or society on the national scale.

For more information about Vic, Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums and their new album Dark Developments, check out Orange Twin Records at 534 Meigs St., Athens, or www.orangetwin.com.

- Angela Dasher

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