Desaparecidos are an American indie/punk rock band headed by singer/guitarist Conor Oberst, the frontman of the emo/folk band Bright Eyes. They're also hailed as the Saddle Creek supergroup. Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, Desaparecidos' lyrics are political in nature, and are about the state of affairs in America.
The band was both lauded and criticized for its intentionally raw sound following the release of Read Music/Speak Spanish. In sharp contrast to Bright Eyes' confessional, even sometimes mournful vocals, Conor Oberst's vocals in Desaparecidos' songs are much more characteristic of punk rock. Though his wavery voice is still present, he snarls in "Happiest Place On Earth" that "there's not enough to fatten the cows and feed all of us. Its just a rationing of luck." In "Maņana", he shouts, "We will spread, we will cover the earth / Like air and water / [...] If we're stopped, we'll just start again." The focus of the album, that today's bigger/better/best society is never sated, is neatly summed up by "Greater Omaha", in which Oberst muses, "One more mouthful, and they will be happy then."
"Desaparecidos" means literally "the disappeared" in Spanish, and is a reference to people who were arrested by various South American military governments and then vanished without a trace. From 1976 to 1983 in Argentina, for example, thousands of dissidents vanished without a trace under the military junta that was in power.
Discography
Band members