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Group Sex

Circle Jerks

1980
Group Sex
Album Summary

Group Sex is the debut studio album by American hardcore punk band Circle Jerks. It was released on October 1, 1980, by Frontier Records. The album consists of 14 songs in 15 minutes and is considered to be a landmark album in hardcore punk. It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

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Rating

2.71

Votes

7054
Genres
Punk

Reviews

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Wed Jan 12 2022
3

I was 9 years old when I attended my first circle jerk. It was a lowly lit room at the Chelsea training ground. I was dressed in a tutu and had my hair in plaits, as was the fashion at the time. My brother shoved me to the middle of the room and then the lights flicked on. I was surrounded by the entire Chelsea first team and backroom staff. They all tugged away at themselves, making strong eye contact with me throughout. I got so swept up by the attention that I didn't realise I was wanking myself. My first time. It was such a turn on. Glenn Hoddle came on my back. Later, we all went out for milkshakes. Somebody bumped into me and I spilt mine all down my front. It was hard to tell what was milkshake and what was jizz. I was completely drenched in both.

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Sun May 16 2021
1

I imagine this type of music is made for desperate teenagers, to fit in with an obnoxious anti-establishment crowd, pretending to enjoy a disgusting screamishly loud esthetic and inflect misery upon themselves. Luckily for my average score, I have not yet been graced with the opportunity to review heavy metal... The only redeeming quality about this record is that the tracks are very short, but there is no excuse for the abhorrent sound "Group Sex" contains. I am contemplating not giving this record a score, because I feel sad about it averaging out a perfect 5/5 to two 3/5's. However, to be fair to the 1001 albums project, this piece of garbage gets an absolute 1/5 from me.

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Thu Dec 16 2021
5

Classic hardcore punk. There's no pretension here. It's a great time and at 15 minutes, you feel inspired to just listen to it again, and then maybe a third time. Side note: I enjoy reading the negative reviews for this. Call it schadenfreude I suppose. I guess it's juvenile of me to feel that way, but I can't help it.

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Fri Dec 10 2021
4

Excellent hardcore punk record. Stupid, bratty, loud. What more do you want?

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Sun May 08 2022
4

Let's normalize 15 minute albums. There's an argument to be made that if you can't get your point across in 0:31 (the length of the album's two shortest songs), then you should just pack up and go home.

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Wed Jan 27 2021
4

Classic punk album with a million songs packed into 30 minutes. Love it.

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Wed Oct 06 2021
1

It felt like a load of 14-year-old edgelords wrote this because they thought it sounded cool. Punk just for the sake of it. The lyrics were juvenile with no real substance - hey, let's write a song about an orgy to piss off our parents, regardless of the fact that we're all virgins! Where's the rage against the machine, Kevin? Go to a protest or something.

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Sun Oct 24 2021
4

As crisp and snappy as an electrified mouse trap baited with Doritos. This is so tight it’s breathless. Fantastically pithy, filthy and fun.

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Thu Jan 06 2022
4

I have a soft spot for hardcore punk. Had this one on cassette back in the day and they had the album 2xs back to back on side 1, and side 2 was just blank and you were encouraged to record what you wanted on it.

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Thu Feb 25 2021
1

I LOATHE this The only thing that will justify one star is that the longest song is only 1:35 and the entire album is around 15 mins long.

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Fri Oct 09 2020
5

In, punk, out. Love Keith Morris and Off! especially. Favorite tracks: "Group Sex", "Deny Everything", "Paid Vacation"

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Fri Dec 10 2021
5

Oh man this took me BACK. I hope I get to rate Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death because boy do I have a story. That album opened up the whole genre of late 70s/80s punk to me that, it seems, I still very much love. This is a great album. Took me back to The DPC (Downtown Performance Center) in Tucson and high school (and beyond) and angst and lyrics and band flyers and everything. Operation really hits differently today than it did in high school lol.

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Wed Mar 31 2021
5

I was very surprised at how much I liked this.

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Fri Nov 18 2022
5

Fitting 14 songs into 16 adrenaline fueled minutes Keith Morris and the boys make a punk classic still being emulated to this day. If you’ve never heard the origins of punk and hardcore the Jerks are a great introduction…as much as Morris’ former band is.

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Thu Jan 26 2023
5

Loud, fast, fun. More 15 minute albums please.

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Wed Jan 27 2021
4

Definitely not my favorite punk album but it’s a lot of fun.

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Fri Aug 27 2021
4

Missing song on Spotify can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW6ykueIhX8 44- Circle Jerks - 21:01 - Deny Everything

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Thu Nov 25 2021
4

It's over in about 15 minutes so stop moaning. Best Tracks: Deny Everything!; Operation; Behind The Door

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Wed Jan 12 2022
4

Circle Jerks: Group Sex. What's not to like?

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Tue May 24 2022
4

Nice early HC, loud and brash but full of actual melody, with a pretty damn good drummer. And at 15min it knows exactly what it is. 4/5.

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Fri Sep 02 2022
4

This was dumb and fun...not to be taken too seriously, but perfect in its way

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Thu Jan 06 2022
3

Waffled between loving and hating this basically on a minute to minute basis throughout the album. The lyrics are so dumb but the concise punch-you-in-the-face punk sound is very appealing.

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Thu May 12 2022
3

Forget lean, this is a single short-twitch muscle fibre. As an aesthetic and/or statement of purpose, 'shorter and faster than everyone else' won't distinguish them all that much, but their brio and animus might. As will their jkz, which are obvious and the better for it. Henry Rollins should have paid attention.

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Fri Apr 08 2022
1

All yelling, no substance. Awful lyrics, awful musicality. The band title and album name are a little try-hard, too. We get it, you're edgelords. Thanks, I hate it.

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Wed Jun 30 2021
5

Mierda clásica no hecha bajo los influjos de la cocaína.

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Fri Aug 27 2021
5

I can see how this band influenced modern punk/hardcore bands. Pretty solid!

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Mon Jan 03 2022
5

What can I say, I'm a sucker for classic punk.

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Wed Jan 12 2022
5

I was going to wax lyrical on this then I realised the band is called "Circle Jerks" and the album is called "Group Sex" so anything I write is going to pale into insignificance in comparison to whatever Nigel Spackman writes.

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Thu Jan 20 2022
5

Cram 14 songs into 15-16 minutes of pure energy. This is a great punk album and doesn't need to be longer!

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Thu Jan 20 2022
5

All speed. All energy. A great way to start the day.

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Wed Feb 16 2022
5

I remember this band from old Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games. I'm a fan of punk rock so this was a great album.

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Sun Mar 13 2022
5

5/5. Kickass early hardcore man 😎🤙

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Wed Jan 19 2022
5

One of my favorite records of all time. And one of my favorite bands to see live. Anger, wit, social commentary - all at breakneck speed.

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Thu Apr 14 2022
5

Great energy, and for once I can actually hear the lyrics in a punk album

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Thu May 12 2022
5

Punk a tope. 19 canciones en 23 minutos. Vinilo.

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Fri Jun 17 2022
5

One of the best punk albums EVER! 15 mins is all it needed!

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Thu Jun 30 2022
5

So short! I didn't even make it to work before it ended

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Wed Aug 03 2022
5

Great album. They get in and out of songs at a record speed but still manage to pack a punch.

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Mon Aug 15 2022
5

Fuck, my ADHD brain loves a short goddamn album. My Tony Hawk heart is also enjoying the hell out of this. Good on you Circle Jerks.

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Thu Nov 03 2022
5

Group Sex is the debut studio album by American hardcore punk band Circle Jerks. It was released on October 1, 1980, by Frontier Records. The album consists of 14 songs in 15 minutes and is considered to be a landmark album in hardcore punk. Four songs on the album – "Wasted", "Don't Care", "Behind the Door" and "Red Tape" – were originally co-written and performed by vocalist Keith Morris with his previous band Black Flag. I liked the mood of this album, extreme and fast songs & lyrics. Also I like to read & listen how people not into the underground music rate this album & music in this genre. (17/02/2023).

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Mon Dec 26 2022
5

You know what. If you're only ever going to record one worthwhile album, 14 Gonzo party punk classics in 15 minutes is as good an idea as any. Go in, get out, leave everyone without eyebrows. Yes.

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Mon Apr 10 2023
5

Fun and straight to the point. I love it.

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Fri Jul 14 2023
5

14 songs in 15 minutes. This is punk rock. They weren’t the first ones to do it but they may be the best.

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Thu Jul 20 2023
5

Yes! Heard of the circle jerks but don't think I've actually listened to them before. This was great and I'm sure it inspired lots of bands I liked growing up. Nofx and pennywise spring to mind but must be many more. Short and energetic. Proper punk. After the album finished Spotify played some great tracks too, bonus. We've had a great ska album and a great punk album this week, they make up my first musical love, ska punk! I have to give this a 5

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Thu Jul 20 2023
5

Never heard of these but it turns out the lead singer was in Black Flag who I vaguely know of and are a hugely influential hardcore punk band. 14 songs, 15 minutes, bosh. To start with I thought 'yep, way ahead of its time, not sure it's great in its own right', then by the end I was putting it on again. Loved it, ludicrous that it came out over 40 years ago.

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Tue Aug 15 2023
5

I make no apologies for liking this. I'm a punk kid and always have been. Circle Jerks isn't even a guilty pleasure for me. It's just a pleasure. Hardcore punk is its own thing distinct from mainstream punk and has its own job to do. Circle Jerks understands the assignment and delivers with "Group Sex". It takes the joyful abandon of punk and adds in a hard, ragged edge of anger and, as a kid, that really spoke to me. I mean, damn... as an adult in today's sociopolitical hellscape, that STILL speaks to me. Bands like Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and Minor Threat feel even more relevant now than they did then. I mean, how can you NOT identify with a song like "World Up My Ass"? That's actual life succinctly summed up in just over a minute. Yeah, no apologies. This is hella great.

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Wed Jan 27 2021
4

Super short album with songs that last just over a minute on average. Super political and in your face.

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Fri Jun 25 2021
4

birth of hXc. can't beat it, feel 16 again listening to it. I did NOT know this was recorded in 1980!! So early

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Wed Jan 27 2021
4

It's loud and gritty. Punk isn't my favorite genre but I can appreciate this album.

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Wed Jun 30 2021
4

Un disco rapidito, lo cual se agradece, sobre todo también por el género. Me gusta, caótico, muy "raw", mucha energía acá, como que si provoca una acelaración. Quizá lo único que juega en contra es que la duración de las canciones y su abundancia hace que parezca que de repente es un único track largooooo con variaciones. Mis favoritas "I Just Want Some Skank", "World Up My Ass", "Live Fast Die Young" y la canción titular. 8/10

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Wed Jun 30 2021
4

A este punto ya creo que con un disco de punk en toda la lista hubiera estado bien, lol. Pero bueno... sí me gustó, no puedo decir qué canción me gustó más, parecen todas la misma :v. En su conjunto estuvo chido, pero nada memorable como pa volver a escucharlo.

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Wed Jun 02 2021
4

Fun album. I'm not a huge fan of bands that do purposely short songs, but they do it so well it is still enjoyable.

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Fri Aug 27 2021
4

fucking jerks! was definitely good

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Fri Aug 27 2021
4

Nice find, it's funny how it takes less than 20 minutes to play all 15 songs

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Wed Oct 27 2021
4

10/27 Raw essence of Punk. Standout Tracks: Deny Everything, I Just Want Some Skank, Beverly Hills, Back Against the Wall, Paid Vacation, Don't Care, Group Sex

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Mon Jan 10 2022
4

Just what I needed on a bright Sunday morning - 14 hard core punk tracks totalling 15 minutes, so quite bearable, like 1 shot of tequila to perk you up. It's like they couldn't be arsed to extend 14 hooks into 4 minutes songs, so listenable! 4/5

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Mon Jan 31 2022
4

that was surprisingly enjoyable, and such a quick listen at only 16 minutes it also has a really fresh, classic sound for 1980, I think I’ll give it an 8/10

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Wed Feb 02 2022
4

While overall I don't consider myself - in the broad sense - a fan of punk, I am a huge fan of this album. Keith Morris really embodies the snarling 'fuck you' attitude of punk. There's a sense of irreverence to this album that doesn't swirl out of control like later California punk albums but keeps it from becoming overly sanctimonious like some of the more political-minded punk albums of the time. It's fast, blunt, primitive, and doesn't overstay its welcome. While the band's best track - the cleverly ordered medley Golden Shower of Hits - isn't on this album, this is the most focused burst of overall quality from the band.

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Wed Feb 16 2022
4

14 songs in 15 minutes. What's not to like?

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Thu Feb 17 2022
4

Banda norte-americana de hardcore punk. O álbum tem 14 músicas e 16 minutos. Sim! Pelo o que li, é uma característica da banda. Temas como sexo e política são recorrentes em todas as faixas.

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Wed Mar 30 2022
4

El epítome del punk! 14 canciones en 15 minutos, lo cual me parece una dosis adecuada porque no es mi género favorito, sólo me gustaría que fuera en 10 o 9 canciones, porque canciones de 35 o 43 segundos como que pierden el sentido para mi, aunque entiendo que es el punto del punk. 3.5 que suben a 4.

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Wed Jan 19 2022
4

Full throttle old skool west coast punk/hardcore. Just a fun band.

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Fri Apr 22 2022
4

Nice sample of hardcore. Short and sweated songs.

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Thu May 19 2022
4

Classic punk. Short, fast, and angry. What more could you want?

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Fri May 20 2022
4

4/5 Very interesting album. Very short but that makes it more palatable for the genre

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Thu May 26 2022
4

Vite fait bien fait Prefs: Operation, Back Against The Wall, Wasted, World Up My Ass, Live Fast Die Young, Group Sex Moins pref: I Just Want Some Skank

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Fri Jul 01 2022
4

If there is a single word that I could pick to describe hardcore punk, it would be efficient. I've been listening to this album for 2 minutes and 45 seconds, and I'm already done with three songs. This album gets through 14 songs in less than 16 minutes. Like I said, efficient This is a fun early example of hardcore and the style of the developing west coast punk scene. I feel like hardcore punk is a bit limited as a genre, but I also know that I would have fucking loved seeing this band when I was a teenager. As I get older, raw power in music appeals to me less and less, but when you're young and full of hormones and anger, it makes you feel like someone else gets it. This album is perfectly that. It's high energy everyday boredom and disaffection. And if you don't like it, it's over in 15 minutes 4/5

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Mon Jul 04 2022
4

Very fast, very loud, very funny, and very short. Kind of good, but I'm not sure "good" is what they were aiming for anyway.

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Thu Jul 14 2022
4

Classic punk at it's best, while not a massive fan of punk, it's bands like these that make me wonder why they weren't anywhere near as famous as the Sex Pistols, whilst being way more talented. Raw energy and fast riffs for 15 minutes straight, what more do you want?!

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Wed Jul 20 2022
4

First things first, what a lovely band and album name. I could tell I was in for some rowdy punk music from that alone, and boy was I right. I actually really enjoyed this one. Apparently it's a vocalist from Black Flag, who I also enjoy sometimes. I love the energy on this project, and the fact that it averages just over a minute per track is a welcome oddity compared to some long ones we've had. Guitars are fuzzy but strong, and the drumming is very clear. Just about everything punk-wise is done right here. Among all the punk projects we've had on the list so far, this one is near the top. Not Stooges level for me, but an excellent angsty-garage-music vibe that flowed throughout. Quite a few highlights for me too. Extra points for efficiency of time. Favorite tracks: Operation, Back Against the Wall, Live Fast Die Young, What's Your Problem. Album art: Excellent picture here, love the splashes of color throughout an otherwise monochromatic picture. Great bold, messy font too. What more could you ask for? 4/5

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Wed Jul 20 2022
4

Its simplicity is its appeal. All over too quickly

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Thu Jul 28 2022
4

James would love the song Operation

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Fri Jul 29 2022
4

Straight up West-Coast American punk. Short, punchy, shouty, fast drums and chords. I dig it.

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Fri Jul 29 2022
4

Well, that was quicker than I expected Group Sex to be. Hard to believe this doesn't carry some explicit warning, but it was a different time. I did enjoy it though.

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Wed Aug 10 2022
4

Was prepped to hate this given the name but I loved it. Interestingly short but it reminded me of so many great punk bands all rolled up together.

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Mon Aug 15 2022
4

Hardcore punk and some of its hardcore punkiest. It is a bit uneven at times, but if you don't like a song it will be over before you know it.

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Sun Sep 18 2022
4

Wow. 14 songs in less than 16 minutes it's a proof of how fast they play. Good record. Powerful band. A true classic.

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Wed Oct 19 2022
4

I think I was just in a good mood yesterday because I liked this far more than I reasonably should have from an objective standpoint. Probably actually a 3.5.

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Thu Nov 03 2022
4

Classic hardcore banger. In and out, 15 minute adventure

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Fri Nov 11 2022
4

Compared to Bad Brains, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and Minor Threat, Circle Jerks has been seemingly overlooked as pioneers of hardcore punk. Group Sex is incredibly brief, wasting no time. Get the idea out there and move on. It's incredible. If you know your punk history, you'll trace lead singer Keith Morris back to Black Flag's early days, specifically the fantastic EP Nervous Breakdown. For me, that early Black Flag energy was something to behold, so I thoroughly enjoyed Morris' energy on this album. Every song on here fucks. There's no doubt in my mind they just threw together songs that wee fast and raw and left it at that. Excellent. That's punk in it's purest form.

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Mon Dec 12 2022
4

Silly little hxc album. Really good.

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Mon Dec 12 2022
4

You've got to applaud the Circle Jerks for their brevity. I mean, wow. What a perfect 15-minute nugget of hardcore that burns brilliantly without overstaying its welcome. All muscle, no fat, minimal brains. What a blast. Fave Songs: Behind the Door, I Just Want Some Skank, Live Fast Die Young, Deny Everything, Back Against the Wall

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Mon Dec 12 2022
4

I love punk that is able to not take itself too seriously while also not falling into parody.

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Thu Jan 12 2023
4

Hyvää vanhan ajan punkkia! Meneehän se

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Thu Jan 12 2023
4

Täydellinen hc-levyn pituus: 15,5 min! Onhan tää rumaa ja suttuisen sotkuista, sekä tosi teiniä, mutta samalla tää on taas niitä peruspilareita jotka on näyttänyt suuntaa. Tykkään tosi paljon. Annan nelosen vaikka periaatteessa oikeen vihasena päivänä tää yltäis kyllä femmaankin. 4/5

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