oblivians: desperation

Desperation picks up right where the band left off, delivering fourteen scorching tracks of soulful punk-garage-blues trash rock informed in equal parts by ’50s rock ’n’ roll, ’60s garage rock, Memphis soul, Delta blues and Killed By Death-style punk. There’s even a Cajun Zydeco cover here! As Greg Oblivian puts it, “Between our last record as a band in ’97 and now, a lot of water has passed below that bridge. We three went our own ways after that and pursued our own musical goals. Personally, I often missed the dynamic that Jack and Eric offered to my songwriting. Almost as much as I missed being given carte blanche to add a thing or two to theirs. I’ve played with lots of great musicians in the interim but needless to say, it’s a hard itch to scratch. The dynamic between us was a singular thing. So, over the years as we would occasionally reunite for a festival or special occasion, the idea began to grow in the back of my mind—the idea of making a new record. I mean, if you’re going to keep playing as a band eventually you’ll want new songs to play. Because as much as we enjoyed playing together the thing I missed the most was creating together. So that’s what we did.”