The Dead Kennedys went a bit leftfield with this album. A slowed-down pace of the Dead Kennedys on an album, mixing with some more traditional Psychedelic/Progressive Rock templates? Sounds a bit odd, really. But then again, nothing was particularly normal about the Dead Kennedys themselves. After a court case over potential artwork that nearly sent their label Alternative Tentacles broke, this album has a more modest art piece, for which the Dead Kennedys were also sued, featuring a Shriner’s parade. Seems like the Dead Kennedys were doomed by this point. Still, at least the Dead Kennedys could deliver another main album for their West Coast USA-based fanbase. Recorded at Hyde St. Studios in San Francisco and released on 21 December 1985, this album received mixed reviews from critics. The Dead Kennedys at the time were: Jello Biafra (vocals and producer); East Bay Ray (guitars and keyboard); Klaus Flouride (bass guitar and backing vocals) and D.H. Peligro (drums and backing vocals). Let’s take a listen to this album, and hopefully, it will be both good and interesting to listen to.

1. Soup is Good Food begins with some good guitar riffs and enters into a much slower but more accessible Dead Kennedys song that sounds really cool. A fine and interesting tune to hear, this is a bit of a 1984 Orwellian music take on politics. A good song, but it lacks the momentum, power and energy throughout the earliest Dead Kennedys works. Still, it is more straightforward and Poppy throughout. A really great tune about the mainstream politics of the 21st century, back in 1985. This is rather scary and decent listening throughout, although it isn’t as humourous or light as earlier Dead Kennedys works. Still, this does sound listenable and quite interesting and is a direct stab at the sadistic and evil nature of the two-party political system. All in all, a really quite good and powerful listen with some of the darkest and most evil take on of society. A good listen, but certainly not a great one. It speeds up nicely at the end, before reaching a good conclusion. Decent enough for what this is.

2. Hellnation is a short track with a faster pace and a less impressive set of guitar riffs. Jello Biafra yelps and screams throughout, sounding very unique indeed. This is the Dead Kennedys on speed, but it sounds like a whirlwind of energy in this song. This is music designed for those who have a very limited attention span. However, the guitar soloing in this song is quite impressive. It briefly stops in the second half, with Jello Biafra mocking environmentalists who desire to protect the world. A really very interesting tune. Awesome though.

3. This Could Be Anywhere is a long piece for the Dead Kennedys at five minutes in length, beginning with some impressive guitars launching into some drumrolls and entering into a sweet piece of music. This has Jello Biafra and friends making some more mainstream and accessible sort of music for the Dead Kennedys. He rails against the modern lifestyle of 1985, leading into the future towards the 21st century. In actual fact, this album seemingly predicts the future of USA-based society and the evils and ills that the once glorious American Dream had, disintegrating into nothing by the time of writing. All in all, this music is really fantastic and theatrical to listen to. Some awesome guitars and drum rolls are present near the midsection, before launching into a doom and gloom sounding guitar riff. Nonetheless, this song is an absolute and wonderful winner, particularly lyrically, although less so musically. A rapid-fire punch in the face, this is a more serious and less popular of the Dead Kennedys, which still packs a reasonable punch. A nice tune to listen to, this music is fairly brutally honest about society’s ills. The music and lyrics do match each other nicely, all the same. A good tune, but not a great one by the Dead Kennedys. Awesome conclusion to the song, however, with some awesome choppy drums and guitar fills.

4. A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch is a doom-and-gloom-sounding tune that sounds really different. It quickly speeds up and launches into a mid-tempo Rock-styled song. This sounds very odd and different throughout, being a very much pseudo-Metal tune, minus the distorted guitars. The lyrics eventually kick in, and Jello Biafra snarls and sings about the contemporary USA life that people had back in 1985. If anyone wants to hear a good snapshot of the 1980s with a huge dose of cynicism, this is it. A powerful and enjoyable music punch-in-the-face, this is some of the greatest Punk Music from this era, specifically from this album. A cool and menacing tune. If you found the early Dead Kennedys too fast and difficult to get into, this may be better for you. A nice guitar solo in the second half is present here, and it sounds rather scary in its phrasing. A good tune from this album, with call-and-response vocals, this speeds up in the second half with screams and dark guitar playing throughout. The music here sounds nasty, brutal and menacing, completely different from anything else musically, before or since. A keyboard and guitar section by East Bay Ray is present here, and it is an uplifting listen. Really cool, it wraps up with the chorus, once again and sounds dark and confronting. Awesome.

5. Chicken Farm begins with some melodic bass guitar and enters into a mid-tempo and rocking number. It continues the musical themes of doom and gloom, set to a nasty and cynical music backdrop. Jello Biafra’s vocals are awesome and menacing throughout. Although it is quite clear that this is a more serious and less consistent album by the Dead Kennedys to listen to, this sounds powerful and awesome all the same. It’s not outright bad to listen to, just seemingly lacking some of the humour and magic of earlier releases by the Dead Kennedys. All in all, this music is a sweet and sensationally good listen with some interesting and sinister lyricism throughout. If you like to annoy your Hippie friends who dig The Beatles and Pink Floyd, this is your album to blast at full volume in their presence. East Bay Ray is a very good guitarist on this album, and he carries the mostly mid-tempo Punk Rock along extremely nicely. Jello Biafra hollers nicely throughout and proves to be a very distinctive vocalist. This music is a ton more enjoyable than the Post Punk Music of Joy Division, although not anywhere near as musically consistent. A bizarre and great song to headbang or mosh along to. Great. A solidly interesting song. It ends with some interesting vocals after five minutes in length.

6. Jock-O-Rama (aka Macho-Rama) begins with some lone vocals and quickly launches into an upbeat and speedy tune that sounds really great. A powerful and interesting tune that sounds extremely consistent and powerful. This is obviously a satire of the jock mentality, and only the Dead Kennedys really could pull off a song such as this. Musically, it is a fast, upbeat and guitar-driven tune with some neat riffing and playing throughout. A very worthwhile listen, this snarling and aggressive attack on the jock lifestyle, complete with a fake cheerleading chant section in the middle, sounds great. The music temporarily halts in the second half, with spoken word singing and strummed guitars, before the rest of the band rejoins this interesting tune. This is an interesting tune with some chaotic conclusions to it. It’s better to hear it than spoil the surprise of this song. If you want a serious laugh, do listen to this song. A variable and great song about the stupidity of American Football, and hilarious, too.

7. Goons of Hazzard begins with some awesome drumming to begin with before launching into an upbeat and punchy Hardcore Punk-styled tune. This has some dark and freaky guitar work, showcasing the unique musicality of the Dead Kennedys. This is another straightforward tune that sounds musically driven and is quite clearly, a mockery of The Dukes Of Hazzard TV series. It seems that the Dead Kennedys never took anything at all seriously. A punchy, upbeat and gloriously wonderful song that is absolutely a joy to hear, it is extremely difficult to take this straight-faced. This song has an interesting guitar solo section that Rocks well. In the second half are some deep soulful vocal singing that matches the theme of the song nicely. A really cool tune to hear, this is an exciting and interesting listen throughout. Jello Biafra, in particular, sounds like an awesome god of music and he sings in an expressive, iconic way. A good song to listen to.

8. M.T.V. Get Off The Air is a song that is as relevant today as it was in 1985. It begins with some simple kick drums and hi-hats, alongside some interesting music and mock vocals. Jello Biafra makes a mockery of MTV and he does an excellent job about how poor MTV really can be. The music stops, with someone screaming the song title, and clanging guitars and speedy drums entering. A powerful and driven tune that sounds absolutely amazing throughout, this is an awesome song, likely the best from this whole album. Hilarious and catchy, the Dead Kennedys do their best to destroy the music institution that is MTV. Regardless of whether or not you see the appeal of MTV, this is a great song that blows them apart. A really cool and interesting tune to listen to, this is surprisingly witty and hilarious. Punk fans will rejoice at this tune, which sounds really sweet. It ends with bugle horns and a conclusion about the sell-out nature of MTV. Great.

9. At MY Job begins with some ordinary 1980s keyboards and drums and launches into a song that is quite clearly taking the mickey out of USA culture at the time. All the same, this music is interesting and has some cool chanted vocals. Note that, just like the rest of the album, you cannot take this seriously. It is a stab at the 9AM to 5PM, Monday to Friday work culture. To be fair, being a talented musician is a much better choice than that. A very odd listen to hear, this music is an interesting and warped listen throughout. There are some neck pickup guitar sounds that are weird as well, alongside manic laughter. A very weird tune, but something worth listening to about the straight-laced nature of ordinary work. A really weird song for the Dead Kennedys. It ends with demonic-sounding laughter.

10. Stars and Stripes of Corruption is the final song on this album. It begins with expressive bass guitar playing, and quickly launches into a fast, speedy and interesting song to wrap things up with. It enters into a powerful, driven and punchy listen that sounds really awesome. Jello Biafra sings very well here, and this tune comes nicely alive throughout. This is a much more representative listen by the Dead Kennedys than the rest of the album. It sounds driven, energetic, punchy and awesome to listen to. This is more in line with the traditional Dead Kennedys music mission and has a political left-wing purpose for those of you on the Socialist side of politics. With as much energy as three cans of Red Bull, this is a great listen if you like variation and music in a fast, interesting and abrasive style. In the midsection, things slow down slightly and sound really awesome with pulsating energy and social commentary on the USA. Although the United States of America is the world’s largest economy by GDP, a lot of people including the Dead Kennedys had beef with the American state. This song articulates that very nicely, and Jello Biafra questions the corruption of money and power in the USA, particularly in the second half of this song. Yes, the Dead Kennedys were very left-wing, but not exactly a low IQ Marxist-Leninist-Communist, they just were simply protesting the stupidities of US capitalist Democracy. All in all, a great song to listen to. Worth your ears, if you are up for it. The music and lyrics complement each other nicely.

This is not a perfect album. However, you can get a lot worse than this. The Dead Kennedys made some impressive music during their time as a band. This album is a parody of contemporary 1985 USA culture and attacks everyone and everything with wit, humour and sound production in a Hardcore Punk style. This album does deserve more love than it gets. Should you listen to this album? If you thought that some Dead Kennedys music was a bit too fast for you, this is the album you should hear. People who hate cynical sarcasm should avoid this album, however.

A very good listen if you need a laugh.

7/10