4AD welcomes DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES!

4AD is pleased to announce the signing of DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES. The band is excited to release In Ear Park via 4AD on October 7th, 2008.

Listen to "In Ear Park" on DoE's Artist Page

Department of Eagles features Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear and his friend Fred Nicolaus, plus additional help from two other members of Grizzly Bear, Chris Taylor and Chris Bear.

Daniel and Fred met in 2000 at NYU when forced to be roommates, and began making music together to pass the time during an uneventful spring semester. They collected samples and turned them into songs using computers and a microphone borrowed from their neighbor Chris Taylor (who, years later would become Daniel’s Grizzly Bear bandmate and DoE’s producer/engineer). The material they wrote during this time became their 2003 debut The Cold Nose, which brought them a small but enthusiastic audience and critical praise.
 
In 2004 Daniel joined Grizzly Bear, playing guitar, singing, and writing a good portion of their sophomore album, Yellow House not to mention extensive touring. Fred descended deeper into the square existence, holding down a number of jobs and opening a savings account. 

Throughout all of this, the two continued writing together whenever possible, resulting in a new batch of songs that comprise In Ear Park, an album that took roughly four years to complete.

About how songs made it to this record, as opposed to a Grizzly Bear one, Daniel says "In Ear Park has been in the making in one form or another for several years now, on and off tour and after work. A lot of these songs felt way too personal to bring to Grizzly Bear-- there's a lot of childhood nostalgia and an emphasis on more concise songwriting. Fred and I had license to try some things that I could never get away with otherwise, but we still went for the lushness and and attention to sonic detail that Chris and I always want out of a recording. I'm excited. "

In Ear Park was recorded in Brooklyn, NY by Chris Taylor. It features 11 tracks, and the title track “In Ear Park” is available for mp3 download above.