Two years ago, Conor Oberst recruited the lineup of his old side project Desaparecidos to reform for an Omaha, Nebraska concert rallying against a controversial immigration bill proposed in the state. Despite having spent nearly a decade apart, the politically charged punk outfit “fell back into the groove musically” with ease Oberst tells Huffington Post. “Riding a bike type of thing.” The result was not only a successful gig comprised of material off their sole LP, Read Music/Speak Spanish, but also a catalyst for new recording sessions and future tour dates. Today brings their first studio work since 2002: “Backsell” and “MariKKKopa” — the latter a musical indictment of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s treatment of prisoners in Arizona’s Maricopa County at his so-called “Tent City” jail compound. Hear “Backsell” and the Arpaio-inspired cut below:
“Backsell”
“MariKKKopa”
Meanwhile, U.S. immigration reform has been an important issue for Oberst in recent years: His label, Team Love, helped distribute a new documentary on the subject in the fall of 2010 while Bright Eyes released a charity single that same month, raising funds to fight a city ordinance with the topical tune “Coyote Song.”