Albums to watch

Archive: 2003-2006

Department Of Eagles

Archive: 2003-2006

Collection of previously unreleased songs from New York duo Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear and Fred Nicolaus

ADM rating[?]

6.8

Label
Bella Union
UK Release date
19/07/2010
  1. 8.1 |   Pitchfork

    For Grizzly Bear fans and Department of Eagles devotees alike, Archives 2003-2006 is a document rich with revelatory moments and educatory touchstones - but as an album, it functions even better
    Read Review

  2. 8.0 |   Clash

    A magical insight into the development of Rossen’s creative genius
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   Rave Magazine

    The chilly folk jaunt of While We’re Young shows they could write great tunes early on, as well as create fascinating sound textures
    Read Review

  4. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    It has an unlikely sense of cohesion that ensures that Archive 2003-2006 far transcends its role as a document of a work in process
    Read Review

  5. 8.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    The first thing that comes through in this Spartan approach is how sharp Rossen’s guitar sounds, and how sensitive his voice is next to it,
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   The Fly

    ‘Archive...’ is a stroke of staggering near perfection
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Their loose-limbed, symphonic pop gets under the skin, and this mood-shifting miscellany has deservedly been dusted off
    Read Review

  8. 7.0 |   NME

    What's surprising is how the band that spawned Grizzly Bear had found their sound so early, back in college dorms. Print edition only

  9. 7.0 |   Subba Cultcha

    Department of Eagles deserve your attention, they deserve to soar, like their namesakes high and pure
    Read Review

  10. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    None of these songs are outright stunners, but they’re compelling simply because of the glimpse they provide into the primitive songwriting methods of two musicians who were both on the cusp of breaking through to prominence
    Read Review

  11. 7.0 |   Bowlegs

    Within these sketches and tracks is an experience and journal Rossen and Nicolaus have already lived, and now, thankfully, we can too
    Read Review

  12. 6.0 |   State

    It’s never without it’s charms, and suffices as more than just Grizzly Bear’s less prosaic, more prozacic, darkly coutured cousin
    Read Review

  13. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    Archives will not compensate for the lack of new Department Of Eagles material...Yet it does have merit as a fascinating document of a band veering out of its comfort zone, starting to make what had previously been the music of their dreams
    Read Review

  14. 6.0 |   Prefix

    Archive serves as a neat window into the past, right at the moment that Rossen’s compositional quirks began to form
    Read Review

  15. 6.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    It has its moments, and in the airy CSN&Y harmonies, one can hear harbingers of Rossen's other band, Grizzly Bear
    Read Review

  16. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Hidden amongst the eclectic moments of inspiration and odd ideas that didn’t quite work out is ‘Golden Apple’, the penultimate track here, and the one moment when the band really hit on something special
    Read Review

  17. 6.0 |   Uncut

    The tracks of Archive 2003-2006 combine a lean feel and try-anything ambition that's well worthy of investigation
    Read Review

  18. 5.0 |   BBC

    If you only buy one Department of Eagles album this week, make it In Ear Park. And if you’ve not got a Grizzly Bear LP to call your own yet, collect those before working your way back to the rather slighter selections penned by Rossen and Nicolaus
    Read Review

  19. 4.0 |   Q

    Print edition only


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Preview & download it

Department Of Eagles: Archive: 2003-2006

  • Download full album for just £7.99
  • 1. Practice Room Sketch 1 £0.99
  • 2. Deadly Disclosure £0.99
  • 3. While We're Young £0.99
  • 4. Grand Army Plaza £0.99
  • 5. Practice Room Sketch 2 £0.99
  • 6. Brightest Minds £0.99
  • 7. Practice Room Sketch 3 £0.99
  • 8. Flip £0.99
  • 9. Practice Room Sketch 4 (Tired Hands) £0.99
  • 10. Golden Apple £0.99
  • 11. Practice Room Sketch 5 £0.99
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Latest Reviews

More reviews