[1] Initially, Rossen and Nicolaus planned on distributing their dorm room beats-and-samples CD only among friends, but they ended up releasing some of these early tracks on two limited-edition vinyl singles on California-based independent label Isota Records.
They recorded additional tracks for these singles and for their debut album with producer Jeff Saltzman, the father of a friend from NYU.
However, to avoid a dispute with a San Francisco-based band of the same name (excepting the UK), they changed their name to "Department of Eagles" before the release of their debut full-length CD.
In 2004 Rossen began writing more folk-based material and experimenting with layered vocals, and in late 2004 he joined Grizzly Bear.
In 2008, the duo recorded a cover of JoJo's song "Too Little Too Late" as a birthday present for Grizzly Bear frontman Edward Droste.