Desaparecidos-Payola Review

Artist: Desaparecidos

Album: Payola

Label: Epitaph

Release Date: June 23, 2015

Website: www.desaparecidosband.com

Reviewed By: Cheyenne Heaslet

On-Air Music Reviewer

13 years ago Desaparecidos released their first album, “Read Music/Speak Spanish”. It was a time when America had lost their foothold to many different corruptions and needed to get it back. Conor Oberst of Desaparecidos took how he felt at the time about 9/11, President Bush, Corporate America and Wall Street to name a few, and turned it into loathsome self-expression. Every song on that album addressed Oberst’s outrage at the sometimes blind America he was living in, and the daily injustices he witnessed. Over a decade later he is back to address some new issues involving immigration, greed, and racial injustice.

Oberst and company waste no time, and immediately bring on the stacked guitars and a newfound love for gang vocals in the opener, “The Left is Right”. The production this time around is much more polished, but the sound still finds a way to maintain the heart and purpose of their rough around the edges debut. Songs such as “City on the Hill”, and “Von Maur Massacre” show the group at their fastest and loudest, but still manage to stay catchy and extremely fun.

Lyrically, “Payola” is Oberst at his best and most accessible. He sticks with his tried and true formula of storytelling, with many of the better songs on the album being about a specific person or situation. Desaparecidos takes on many subjects, and while some may be considered dated, (they did start recording the album three years ago) Conor Oberst’s Lyrics are part tongue in cheek, part precise aggression, and are sung with intensity, as if his comments were being delivered directly to the inspiration. His angry letter to health insurance, “Ralphy’s Cut”, is one of the best crafted and personal songs on the record, and the ode to Chilean activist Camila Vallejo (“Te Amo Camila Vallejo”) works so effectively that by the end of the record’s 14 tracks you might feel like joining the band in protesting something, if not everything.

One of the main reasons for the lasting power of “Read Music/Speak Spanish” has been Desa’s penchant for heavy sounds, paired with great hooks. For the most part the songs on “Payola” are realized as perfectly and fast-paced punk club anthems, with the few slower exceptions also being great. Musically it checks all the boxes for a superb rock album, and even with 14 songs and a 44 minute runtime “Payola” never seems to drag. The guitars are loud, the bass bites, the drums drive, and the keys are the perfect musical glue. While some fans may prefer the sound of their rushed and raw first effort, the grander production feels at home with the band and gives it the shine that an effort this anticipated very much deserves.

With all that Conor Oberst has to say in “Payola”, walking away from the album with a clean conscience is something that seems hard to do. With police brutality in the forefront of our minds, and talks of immigration in the news being a daily occurrence, it becomes hard not to take action, and easier to raise our voice. While you could escape into a flowery existence, listening to love sick pop songs, it’s refreshing to hear an album with depth and soul. Oberst genuinely seems to care about the world’s problems and wants notice for those voices who aren't heard. I leave you with one stand out track from “Payola”, “Ralphy’s Cut”.

Desaparecidos – Ralphy's Cut