Some completely fresh leftovers

Department of Eagles is the side project of Daniel Rossen, co-songwriter of Grizzly Bear, and Fred Nicolaus, with some members of Grizzly Bear thrown into the mix.

Although essentially a compilation of unused tracks, “Archives 2003-2006” is often beautiful and engrossing.

It’s impossible to talk about this band without mentioning Rossen’s other band, but Department of Eagles never really feels derivative. Although the songs are in a similar style to Grizzly Bear (particularly Rossen’s work on “Yellow House”), they all have a life that could exist without any mention of the other band.

Though a recurring series of sketches on the album are ghostly and unfinished, most of the album is surprisingly complete for unused material.

Beautiful harmonies, twinkling guitars and occasional banjo fill up most of the tracks. The album starts off with the dark and mysterious “Deadly Disclosure,” but the mood lifts as the album progresses, climaxing with the majestic “Golden Apple.”

Department of Eagles must be doing pretty well if even their leftovers sound this great.