The Eagles have landed

Ah, the side project.

Many an artist - usually the frontman of an already established band - has moved on to create his own little pet project, touting his newfound experimentalism as he goes. Side projects are the artist's way of creating songs that wouldn't fit stylistically into his main band, his own way of expanding his artistic palate. They turn screamers into crooners, dropped-D guitar solos into twangy Americana.

So, for all intents and purposes, Department of Eagles could be seen as a side project, a new creative outlet for Dan Rossen, the singer and guitarist of Grizzly Bear. In reality, though, Department of Eagles was the first of his two animal-related monikers, forming in 2001, as opposed to Grizzly Bear, which released its debut album three years later.

Whereas Grizzly Bear is generally a psychedelic, lo-fi affair, Department of Eagles veers toward the folk and electronic ends of the musical spectrum. In Ear Park begins with the title track, as Rossen's vocals lazily drift over rapidly picked acoustic guitar, marching drum beats and piano. When the the song eventually opens up, it becomes surprisingly dreamy, as vocal ooh-ing nudges itself under the established guitar and Rossen's sustained voice.

It leads into the catchiest song on the record, the infectious "No One Does it Like You." Rossen's affinity for rhythmic backing vocals shines again, and an assortment of instruments, both traditional and electronic, creates an arpeggio as Rossen proclaims he "Tried so hard/ But no one does it like you."

The acoustic guitar has a large presence on the rest of the album, with one of the most notable exceptions being the beautiful piano ballad "Herring Bone," which adds in a subtle flute as the song moves toward its end.

But one thing Department of Eagles shies away from is complete subtlety. While the flute in "Herring Bone" is understated, it is a part of the crescendoing whole of the song. "Classical Records" applies a quivering two-note motif to a thunderous cello section and bouncing piano, juxtaposing this intensity with quiet interludes throughout. Yet even the lightest portions of the song demand attention after following such ferocity.

Elsewhere, there's the curious "Teenagers," with its verses instantly catapulting the listener 50 or so years into the past. Rossen's voice is pushed through a strange, detaching vocal filter, the piano chords seem to strike wrong notes and it ends as one of the more enticing tracks on In Ear Park, if only for its weirdness and nostalgia.

The main problem with In Ear Park is its tendency to allow its tracks to bleed into each other. As seemingly different as the backing vocal experimentation of "Phantom Other" is from the meandering electric guitar and quietly whistled melody of "Around the Bay," all the tracks present the exact same atmosphere.

It's all a strange rustic-folk/modern-electronic hybrid which, believe it or not, tends to run a bit dry after 11 songs. While the tracks themselves might be markedly different in instrumentation or musical progressions, the feel remains constant throughout, which leads to slight staleness after a while.

However, every single one of these songs, taken individually, is incredibly endearing. Rossen has succeeded in creating something quite unlike his exploits in Grizzly Bear, mostly to positive results.

Just be sure not to call it a side project.

diversionsdbk@gmail.com

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars