Album Notes

Maybarduk's sounds range from innovative sample-based compositions ("Siddhartha on his raft") to conversations on nylon-string guitar ("Sundays") to full-tilt post-punk rock ("Dom Helder Camara").

In "Darker Days," Maybarduk sings, "I only want to be of use. To protect a people or an idea." Many of his songs wrestle with the challenges of creating both personal and political change. His live shows mix in video and performance art, jumping in crowds with props and instruments.

Maybarduk released his second album "No Hay Pueblo Vencido" ("No Defeated People"), produced by J. Robbins (Jawbox/Channels), on March 19, 2009. Maybarduk and Robbins invested months imagining arrangements and calling in established musicians of the mid-Atlantic indie scene to draw out the character of each song. "Vencido" compels as pop, as art, and as statement on living unique possibilities despite oppression.

Born on July 4, 1979, to an American diplomat and a social worker in Mexico City, Maybarduk has since lived in Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Cuba and Venezuela and across the United States from rural Maine to Berkeley, California, where he attended law school and fronted indie rock band Last Clear Chance. In 2007, he joined the non-profit advocacy group Essential Action, and now divides his time between music and work in Washington, D.C. and the Global South, helping countries improve access to critical medicines.