Performer Notes

Personnel: Conor Oberst (vocals, guitar); Landon Hedges (vocals); Denver Dalley (guitar); Ian McElroy (keyboards); Matt Baum (drums).
Audio Mixer: Mike Mogis.
Recording information: ARC, Omaha, NE (2012-2014).
Two albums in 13 years is hardly the mark of a high-functioning punk rock unit, but Desaparecidos is a Conor Oberst joint. The prolific Nebraskan hasn't exactly been resting on his laurels, with nearly a dozen full-length outings seeing the light of day (under his own name, Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk, etc.) since the release of the band's 2002 debut, Read Music/Speak Spanish. After reuniting for a series of shows in 2012, Desaparecidos issued a quartet of singles, all of which make an appearance on the spectacular Payola, a nervy collection of retro socio-political punk rock anthems shot through with enough pure '70s power pop acumen to ignite every lighter in the Nippon Budokan. Louder and more focused than its predecessor, though no less raw and impacting, Payola houses a laundry list of grievances, from the 1% vs. the occupy movement ("Left Is Right") and Arizona anti-immigration advocate and Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio ("MariKKKopa"), to senseless mall shootings ("Von Maur Massacre) and white collar crime ("Golden Parachutes"). The latter cut is one of three to feature a guest spot (Brooklyn punk rockers the So So Glos and Cursive's Tim Kasher join the non-pity party on "Slacktivist" and "City on the Hill," respectively), and it serves up one of the album's strongest melodic moments, with a fevered Oberst sharing the mike with Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace and the band tearing it up "White Riot"-era Clash style. Politically charged punk rock can be an exhausting and overtly self-righteous affair in the wrong hands, but Oberst and company temper their outrage with unadulterated melodic might, resulting in that rare protest album that rewards both the condemners and the condemned. ~ James Christopher Monger

Professional Reviews

Spin - "Desaparecidos' long-awaited second album is several BPM more breakneck than 2002's Read Music/Speak Spanish, and more politicized; it actually improves on the original in every way."

NME (Magazine) - "Oberst growls emphatically through social inequality rant `The Left Is Right' and `City On The Hill' bounces along with more woahs than US punk roadshow the Warped Tour..."

Paste (magazine) - "With an election just around the corner, Oberst and Co. seem anxious not only to churn out some great punk tunes, but to also turn that high-gain energy toward the political landscape."

Pitchfork (Website) - "PAYOLA is a discovery of their inner Sex Pistols: more cynical, more in character, taking advantage of no-win, no-future situations to create potent, punk rock theater."

Album: Payola
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Left is Right	More Info...
2)	The Underground Man	More Info...
3)	City on the Hill	More Info...
4)	Golden Parachutes	More Info...
5)	Radicalized	More Info...
6)	MariKKKopa	More Info...
7)	Te Amo Camila Vallejo	More Info...
8)	Ralphy's Cut	More Info...
9)	Backsell	More Info...
10)	Slacktivist	More Info...
11)	Search the Searches	More Info...
12)	10 Steps Behind	More Info...
13)	Von Maur Massacre	More Info...
14)	Anonymous	More Info...

Album: Payola
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Left is Right	More Info...
2)	The Underground Man	More Info...
3)	City on the Hill	More Info...
4)	Golden Parachutes	More Info...
5)	Radicalized	More Info...
6)	MariKKKopa	More Info...
7)	Te Amo Camila Vallejo	More Info...
8)	Ralphy's Cut	More Info...
9)	Backsell	More Info...
10)	Slacktivist	More Info...
11)	Search the Searches	More Info...
12)	10 Steps Behind	More Info...
13)	Von Maur Massacre	More Info...
14)	Anonymous	More Info...