Coming with aggression, sarcasm, and political insight, came the Dead Kennedys. Dead Kennedys are a hardcore-punk band from California bringing angry music with fitting lyrics to match. Built up of Jello Biafra on lead vocals, East Bay Ray on guitar, Klaus Flouride on bass, and 'Ted' on drums, they became a force to reckon with during the hardcore punk era of the '80s.
On this album there are fast, aggressive and catchy songs about war, stupid people, and causing general mischief, with a sarcastic sense of humor present throughout the whole album.One of the things I love about this album is Jello Biafra in general. He can't sing, and his voice isn't exactly suited for the music, but it fits so well in the way that it's unique and somewhat creepy at times, I can't think of anyone else that sounds like him. Also his lyrics, instead of complaining about how the government is wrong and all that, a boring subject that many, many bands have started to take on because they think it makes them cool and edgy, when in reality they're just stupid suburban kids that supposedly hate George Bush, instead of going that route, Jello often puts himself in the government's place in the lyrics, acting like he supports what they supposedly want, as he sings 'Kill The Poor' about just that, killing the poor people in the nation so they have more room to build things, there won't be so many ugly homeless people on the street, etc.
The great thing about the Dead Kennedys is that everyone who likes them has their own favorite song by them, and no one can really say 'OMG NO DAT SONG SUXXX', because while they all have kind of the same vibe, a lot of them are pretty good as far as hardcore punk goes, from the crazy, hectic sounds of 'Stealing People's Mail' which sounds like it could've taken a cue from Frank Zappa at times, to the ever-classic 'California Über Alles', which is creepy, and just keeps building up until it finally explodes. The songs have both a strange sense of humor, and a grip of political-awareness.
That doesn't mean he's the only worthwhile member however. East Bay Ray's guitar playing is quite good, and he even gets a few guitar solos, plus his guitar-tone is just unique, it sounds a bit grainy, yet accessible. Klaus Flouride's basslines are also nice, the times they can be heard anyway. His bass sometimes gets a little undermixed underneath Ray's guitar, but the times it's just Klaus playing, he's come up with a few fairly creative basslines. And Ted's drumming isn't the best around, but he's fast.
The album isn't perfect though, the production, while a lot better than many hardcore punk bands of the '80s, is still missing just a little something in terms of sound quality, although some might argue that's not an issue at all. It's not at all low sound quality like the Misfits' earlier recordings, though. Jello's voice is either a hit or a miss, too, with some saying he's a great, unique vocalist, and other people claiming, and I quote, "It sounds like he's giving oral sex to the microphone at times".
Either way, the Dead Kennedys have created possibly the most important album in hardcore punk history, with this album basically popularizing the hardcore punk genre, and continues to constantly influence new bands that decide to walk in their footsteps.
8/10
Recommended track(s): Stealing People's Mail, California Uber Alles
