Department of Eagles – “In Ear Park”
(from In Ear Park)
It’s finally starting to feel like fall, and as much as I love the brisk weather and taste of cider there’s always a pungent, bittersweet feeling that accompanies autumn that I just can’t shake. I see the trees change hues and it’s like a clock noting the passage of time, reminding me that yet another year that started full of hope and good intentions has fallen prey to old habits. I start to feel nostalgiac, so I put aside the hyperactive records of summer and instead seek out tunes that exhibit a bit more restraint and reverence; something that reflects the reddening leaves and my own sense of nostalgia.
Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park is just the sort of palliative I need. It’s a quiet, calming album, full of balmy ballads couched in a distant reverb, and it’s one of the better records I’ve heard this year. With Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen handling vocals and acoustic guitar and his old NYU roommate Fred Nicolaus managing the beats and samples, their music has sometimes been misleadingly referred to as “folktronica,” but their approach to songcraft is decidedly more old fashioned. Hints of Van Dyke Parks waft through the crisp, ginger arrangements, and the ghost of Harry Nilsson hangs around every corner. The subdued “Herring Bone,” for instance, sounds like a dusty relic from A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night.
What distinguished Parks and Nilsson from their contemporaries, however, was their ability to reach back to bygone musical styles and infuse them with their own eclectic pop sensibilities. Department of Eagles does much the same thing, creating music that sounds old and familiar and refreshingly new at the same time. The title track opens with a nervous fluttering of acoustic finger picking that builds into a regal Victrola orchestra, which ebbs and flows over Rossen’s wan and wispy remembrances of his deceased father.
Be sure to check out the Dept. of Eagles Daytrotter session before you forget.
The Walkmen – “Canadian Girl”
(from You & Me)
But Department of Eagles aren’t the only band out there with a penchant for nostalgia and old Nilsson records. The Walkmen, who released a note-for-note cover album of “Pussy Cats” two years back, are continuing to fly in the face of convention. Unlike their earlier records, You & Me is a patient, understated affair. I didn’t give it much credit when it came out a few months ago, and honestly I was a little perplexed by so many people calling it the best album of the year, but it’s been a sleeper hit with me this year. It’s a really solid, mature album.
For a band most known for their thundering drones and gourd percussions and Hamilton Leithauser’s vocal cord abuse, it’s the restrained, bare-bones moments on You & Me that really linger with me. The gentle, mournful horns on “Red Moon”; the jittery shuffle of “Canadian Girl”; the cracked optimism of “In the New Year.” These songs just continue to sound better the colder it becomes outside. The Walkmen are a band that could easily have chosen to re-write “The Rat” over and over again, but instead they found the confidence to work on these wry, vulnerable tomes that speak much more to their ability.
The Walkmen – “In the New Year”
8 Comments
Nice words, Todd. I’m pretty sure we’ve both written a version of your first paragraph for the last two falls–like it’s cyclical or something! The good news is that those nostalgic feelings that come with the falling of the leaves are always accompanied by good new music (and the old ones: I suddenly have a strong urge to listen to Neil Young Unplugged).
When I last saw The Walkman, it was such a bad show that I decided to refrain from writing about it and swore them off forever. But after watching and listening to “The New Year,” I’m pretty sure I’m going to get into that album in a big way.
Ha ha, yeah, it’s the obligatory “autumn makes me want to listen to autumnal music” intro. Neil Young is perfect in this regard — did you ever pick up Live at Massey Hall 1971 last year? Sooo good.
Surprised to hear you had a negative Walkmen concert experience; they’ve blown me away every time I’ve seen them. Hopefully the new album will re-convert you.
i actually agree with scotter…for once. the past 3 times i’ve seen the walkmen they’ve been awful.
I’ve just listened to “In The New Year” for the 15th time. I’ve made two decisions:
1. I’m going to buy an awesome organ and a really overpowering cabinet amp to play it through. Will that work? I don’t know gear. I just want that organ sound in everything I play from now on.
2. I think I’m never going to see The Walkmen again–seriously, that show was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. But I think it’s ok to love a band’s music and keep it at that, without going to see them live. Maybe they just had a really bad show when I saw them, but I won’t allow myself to fall in love with this album then have it ruined by another bad show. I’ll love The Walkmen from afar, I think.
I’ve only seen The Walkmen once, but it was seriously one of most amazing live music experiences I’ve had. It’s hard for me to imagine them putting on a bad show, since they are such an interesting band. This reminds me of when I worked at a video store for many years and people would come in and say stuff like, Magnolia is the worst movie I’ve ever seen! I can understand people not liking certain things, but how could something so original be considered the absolute worst. I would save the word “worst” for something that is an insult to your intelligence. At the same time good art is supposed to make you feel something whether it’s postive or negative, so at least The Walkmen succeeded in that way. If it was the most lukewarm concert you’ve ever been to, then I’d really be worried!
Fancy, perhaps the one time I saw the Walkmen must have been a really bad off night for them, because it was a very blah show. Everybody I know who went to that particular show–even people who love The Walkmen and have seen them several times–thought it was a bad show. The singer just didn’t want to be there, and it was very, very obvious. The problem is that others have said either “yeah, they were exactly like this when I saw them a year ago” or “I can’t believe they were so good before and this was terrible.”
So while your point about “good art is supposed to make you feel something whether positive or negative” is absolutely true (I’m thinking Philip Glass/John Cage), in this case, perhaps it was an instance of a really, really good band having a very, very bad night.
Well, Scotter, can you really blame ‘em? I mean, what band actually looks forward to playing in Detroit? Oh snap!
Seriously though, I’ve been impressed every time I’ve seen the Walkmen live, and I’m usually mesmerized by the bulging vein on Leithauser’s neck throughout the show (it’s bound to pop one of these days). But if a band’s just not connecting, ain’t nuthin’ you can do about it. Play it safe and just enjoy the record if that works for you.
That makes sense. I’ve seen good bands having bad nights, but I also tend to enjoy myself anyway since certain songs sound good even while played badly. I’ll never forget hearing a godawful version of God Only Knows by some pop-punk band, and the song still managed to move me because the chord changes and lyrics are so undeniably beautiful. In my mind, certain songs are almost impossible to screw up, which is why I was surprised you saw such a bad show. For me personally I could listen to Rockapella doing a terrible version of The Rat, and I’d still be into it!
By the way, “Lullabies in Ragtime & Post-Punk in 3/4″ is the best description of The Walkment I’ve ever heard yet!