"Plastic Surgery Disasters" is the second full-length album by the punk rock band Dead Kennedys, released in 1982. It was recorded in San Francisco during June of that year and produced by the band along with punk producer Thom Wilson, with Geza X receiving a "special thanks" credit for additional production. The album marks a darker, more hardcore-influenced direction for the band compared to their debut Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. This shift in sound was influenced by their 1980 single "Holiday in Cambodia," as the band aimed to expand on the intensity and atmosphere that song had achieved. Plastic Surgery Disasters was also the first full-length album to feature drummer D.H. Peligro, and it became the favorite album of the band's frontman, Jello Biafra.
In terms of musical influences, Biafra cited bands like Bauhaus, as well as Les Baxter and the Groundhogs, as key inspirations for the album's sound. The result is a more intense and complex blend of punk rock, with elements of dark post-punk and experimental rock.
The album's artwork is striking, featuring a black-and-white photograph titled "Hands" by photojournalist Michael Wells. The photo shows the emaciated arm and hand of a malnourished Ugandan child, held by the hand of a European missionary. The image was intended to highlight the horrors of famine in Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. The same image had been used by another San Francisco punk band, Society Dog, for their 1981 EP. In addition to the photograph, the album includes a booklet with lyrics and collage artwork by Biafra and artist Winston Smith. The artwork complements the album’s themes and reflects the political and social commentary found in the lyrics.
The tracklisting on the original vinyl and cassette releases of the album divides the A-side and B-side. The A-side consists of tracks 1 through 8, ending with "Winnebago Warrior," while the B-side includes tracks 9 through 13, starting with "Riot." Some reissues of the album list Melissa Webber's spoken intro to the opening song, "Government Flu," as a separate track titled "Advice from Christmas Past." Similarly, Webber's spoken outro after the song "Moon Over Marin" is listed as "Advice from Christmas Past" on some editions.
All of the album's tracks were written by Jello Biafra, with the exception of those specified otherwise. Plastic Surgery Disasters continues to be regarded as one of the Dead Kennedys' most influential albums, known for its raw energy, biting social commentary, and its significant influence on the hardcore punk genre.
