Department Of Eagles - In Ear Park/Johann Johannsson - Fordlandia (4AD)
1/5
By: Liam Manley
Happy New Year and welcome to 2009, already certified as the year of Little Boots and untold poverty. But before we wrap the corpse of '08 in a shabby old rug and toss it in the lay-by, let us return to the scene of the crime for a belated look at a couple of 4AD offerings...
Released late last year, In Ear Park sees Daniel Rossen reunited with his one-time Uni roommate Fred Nicolaus to follow up their 2003 DoE debut The Cold Nose. The years since have seen Rossen join full-time with Grizzly Bear (who's members heavily contribute here) and, conversely, Nicolaus taking up full-time nine-to-five employment. So, while Nicolaus enjoyed the spoils of domesticity, Rossen ascended to blogosphere royalty on the back of support for GB's Yellow House. All was not perfect for Rossen, however, as 2007 saw the loss of his father, to whom this record is dedicated.
The titular opener invites us into their twilight world, shrouded within the foliage presented on the cover, lamenting "Now that you're gone/I've nothing but time". Though not primarily concerned with mortality, a general sense of reminiscence and fondness for nostalgia abounds throughout; both Rossen and Nicolaus proffer childhood recollections, recounted using oblique phrasing and repeated refrains (techniques GB fans will be familiar with) rather than typical verse/chorus constructs. When they do engage with such methods, as on 'Teenagers' and 'No One Does It Like You', the results are a celestial strain of Beach Boys carousel Americana, with added Spectorish bounce, twinkle and tingle.
Jóhann Jóhannsson's fourth solo album aims for a similar level of elegance, if with somewhat higher-reaching ambition. Where the Icelandic composer's previous recordings explored the relationship between man and machine, his palette is now conceptually wider. Thematically drawing on what seems like a mixture of Fitzcarraldo and Citizen Kane, the three Fordlandia movements concern an American magnate's doomed attempt to build a utopia in the South American rainforest. The ill-fated endeavours continue as Johannsson draws upon a scientist's fatal mishap for inspiration ('The Rocket Builder [lo Pan!]'). Elsewhere, a Victorian poetess mourns the death of Pan and a crippled physicist stumbles upon the equation for travel at light speed.
Such pretensions, you'd expect, would lead to overblown or self-regarding pomp. Instead, the gossamer-like compositions fail to match up to the scale of Johannsson's conceptual aim. At times augmented by little more than laptop hum and scuttle, the glossy string arrangements fail to maintain sufficient grip. There are moments of worth, particularly the 'Melodia' suites I, II, III and IV that feature sombre passages of woodwind (I, II and IV) and equally mournful piano (III). Also of note is the foreboding John Carpenter-esque synth-throb of 'The Rocket...' and the menacing choral waves of 'The Great God Pan Is Dead'. Sadly, Johannsson's delicacy of touch tends to summon all the dynamism of sonic wallpaper or Sigur Ros at their most soporific.
With highly-regarded UK releases from TV On The Radio, Bon Iver, Atlas Sound and The Breeders, 2008 was a landmark year for 4AD. To that list you can add the slow burning charm and magisterial restraint of Department of Eagles and pray that 2009's half as good.
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