With
Bright Eyes
,
Conor Oberst
wears his languishing heart on his sleeve, channeling his most personal emotions via intense acoustic-based
indie rock
. The talented young songwriter seems ready to burst out into something noisier, and he gets that chance with
Desaparecidos
. On
Read Music/Speak Spanish
, the band rocks out with more of an
emo
edge, typified by blaring guitars and raging vocals. With fellow Omaha guitarist/songwriter
Denver Dalley
, bassist
Landon Hedges
, keyboardist
Ian McElroy
, and drummer
Matt Baum
(
Baum
and
McElroy
have toured with
, while
Hedges
plays in labelmate
the Good Life
), the group critiques American materialism and consumerism. Songs such as
"Greater Omaha"
"Mall of America"
resonate with sincerity, while
Oberst
's vocals quiver and scream about money and society. With such a convincing voice, there's never a time when his lyrics are less than earnest. This debut full-length was recorded in one week, which, as a result, adds to its unabashed rawness. [A Japanese version included bonus tracks.] ~ Kenyon Hopkin