Description
Lard – “The Power Of Lard” 12″ EP
The debut 12″ EP by the post-punk industrial noise terrorists, released on Alternative Tentacles records in 1989. Marking the rebirth of Jello Biafra post the break-up of the Dead Kennedys, teaming-up with Al Jourgensen of industrial head-bangers Ministry (plus two other Ministry members on guitars and drums). It contains three songs clocking in at 44 minutes that range from the funky-bass-lead rush of the title track “The Power Of Lard”; the Flipper-esque grove of “Hellfudge”; and the doomy, half-hour grind of the Swans-influenced epic “Time To Melt”.
It is perhaps easy to forget or overlook the global significance that the Dead Kennedys held in the 1980s. The anticipation, across the punk spectrum and beyond, for what Jello was going to do next was huge and this 12″ consequently made quite a big impact, heading straight up the indie charts, the mysterious outsiders jostling alongside the Pixies and Stone Roses (an indie-chart/top forty – how antiquated does that sound now?). Teaming-up with Al Jourgensen made total sense. Ministry were big on side projects, namely Revolting Cocks, 1000 Homo DJs, and, of course, significantly, the Ian MacKaye collaboration Pailhead. Which, essentially, is exactly what Lard sounded like – an alternate version of Pailhead with Jello’s distinct vocal warble and satirical observations replacing MacKaye’s vitriolic chanting. The track “Time To Melt”, taking-up the whole of side two, was the intentional curve ball that tested the endurance of the late 80s die-hard noise-heads. A heavy, soporific dirge, that to be fair, despite the obvious Swan’s pace, was an exploration of doominess that was ahead of it’s time and I now think of it as the strongest, most rewarding track on this EP. Like the sleeve’s imagery, it is indeed a monstrous beast.
