The band's sound was labeled "full-on emo-in-the-garage" by Alternative Press, "the sort of howlingly tuneful Midwestern punk that disappeared with Husker Du" by Entertainment Weekly, "anthemic thrash" by Rolling Stone, and as such is noted for its sonic differences from Oberst's primary band. They have also been hailed as the "Saddle Creek supergroup". Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, Desaparecidos' lyrics are mostly about the sociopolitical state of affairs in America.
The band has been 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 were much more characteristic of post-hardcore: angular, energetic and engaging.
"Desaparecidos" means literally "the ones who disappeared" in Spanish and Portuguese, 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, 30,000 people vanished without a trace as part of the Dirty War driven by the military junta that was in power.
Desaparecidos broke up in 2002 while the band was attracting an increasingly large following, especially touring with Jimmy Eat World and The Promise Ring and being the feature of an MTV You Hear it First episode. However, Oberst did not have the time to dedicate to the band with the continually increasing success of Bright Eyes. Oberst continued to record with Bright Eyes, while the other members of Desaparecidos went on to form other projects. Matt Baum was in The '89 Cubs, but currently drums for Race for Titles and the Coffin Killers; Ian McElroy is Rig 1; Denver Dalley is in Statistics and Intramural; Landon Hedges is currently in Little Brazil; and Casey Scott is Goldensection.
Desaparecidos reunited for a single show at the Concert for Equality in Omaha's Benson neighborhood on July 31, 2010.
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