by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In what could be the worst-kept secret in the history of indie rock, it was officially announced yesterday that former Saddle Creek Records band Desaparecidos has signed with Epitaph Records for the release of the band’s first new album in 13 frickin’ years.

Rumors of the Epitaph signing go as far back as the band’s 2013 Maha Festival performance. Conor Oberst all but confirmed the deal (or more accurately, didn’t deny it) in this May 2014 interview in The Reader.

Epitaph’s official announcement adds nothing new to the story, not even a street date for the album, only that it’ll be released this year. One assumes that the release would be sometime around the start of the band’s brief April tour, that starts April 8 in Denver. We shall see.

Not being discussed is why the new Desa record isn’t coming out on Saddle Creek. I suppose the writing was on the wall when they self-released three singles over the past couple years. With Oberst now on Nonesuch and Bright Eyes seemingly on indefinite hiatus, it appears Oberst has all but cut ties with the record label he helped create.

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Twinsmith’s new single premiered this morning at AV Club.

Speaking of Saddle Creek, its newest addition, Twinsmith, saw the debut of the first track off its sophomore album, Alligator Years, premiered this morning at AV Club (Don’t forget check out the comments at the end of that AV Club story). Twimsmith is touring with Cursive in February before they begin a headlining tour March 2 in Chicago (which leads to their appearances at SXSW in mid-March). The rekkid comes out May 5.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.