This debut album from Brooklyn-based duo Department Of Eagles was originally released in 2005. As much DJ Shadow as it is latter-day Radiohead, it merges bleeps and blips with interesting, intriguing samples, but always remains accessible and enjoyable.
Made when the pair – Daniel Rossen on vocals and guitars and Fred Nicolaus on the beats and samples – were teenagers, The Cold Nose now comes with six bonus tracks that include demos, remixes and unreleased material. It means that this record, which was already more a collection of random tunes than a record, feels even less like a cohesive album than it did the first time around. Unusually, though, that works to its benefit.
What this becomes, with the sublime (and slightly creepy) Noam Chomsky Spring Break 2002 and the wildly different demo of album closer Ghost In Summer Clothes, is more like a collection of hazy memories gathered together like a lifetime of photographs randomly placed in one album. It’s weird, pretty, wistful and romantic – often all at once – and is a welcome reminder that this genre of music doesn’t necessarily have to be difficult or emotionally detached. Perhaps somebody should buy this for Thom Yorke…
