Miler72 Not common for the 1970s, there was a one year gap for Lard Free, probably due to Gilbert Artman having trouble keeping a steady lineup. It's obvious he was really doing his homework between albums, while the production quality isn't much improved, it seems the music has improved some (although I do enjoy the debut, I'm Around About Midnight seems less primitive). The music takes on a stronger Heldon feel to it, which comes as no surprise as Richard Pinhas appears on this album, giving his trademark Fripp-like guitar work and synths, but the jazz elements lacking on an Heldon album are present, thanks to the use of saxes. Some of the album has a bit of a world music feel to it, almost a Balinesian gamelan feel, but I believe these are just vibes, not gamelan. I'm fond of this part that starts off with gentle Hammond organ and pinging synths that give away to sequenced synthesizer passage. "Pâle Violence Under A Réverbère" has a King Crimson/Heldon thing going on, but the drums have that strangely '80s gated reverb/big snare sound, how that was done in 1975, I don't know how, and I own the original LP on the Vamp label, so it wasn't like it was remixed when reissued (like what ZZ Top did with their early albums in the 1980s when they reissued them on CD or the Alan Parsons Project did with Tales of Mystery & Imagination). While their third is by far their best, this is their second best and still worth getting.

Miler72 Lard Free was essentially Gilbert Artman's project, so each album featured totally different lineups. This was the debut. It's a strange combination of noisy, jazzy prog rock and electronic music. The production quality isn't that great, it seems to have that home made quality, which I guess was intentional. You might notice a rather familiar bass line when you start playing this album! Yes the famous bass line you hear on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew! If King Crimson tried Bitches Brew, this is basically what you get! Lots of heavily distorted Fripp-like guitar and that bass line. Much of the rest is similar pattern, between tripped out synth-dominated electronic passages, and noisy, Crimson-like passages. I am particularly fond of " Livarot Respiration", really nice, mellow jazzy passage with sax and vibraphone. Musically, this is a bit like a more jazzy version of Heldon (in fact, their second album I'm Around About Midnight features none other than Richard Pinhas). I'm glad to discover Lard Free (I knew of them for years, but didn't buy any of their albums until 2013). While I feel their third album (frequently called III or Spirale Malax) is their best one, and the one to start if you're not familiar with Lard Free, this too is worth having.