Album: Group Sex
Artist: Circle Jerks
Release Date: October 1, 1980
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Length: 0:15:25
Label: Frontier Records
Producer: Circle Jerks/Cary Markoff
1,001 Album Book: Yes
Mosh-pits, crowd surfing and teen angst...
The debut record from hardcore punk band, Circle Jerks, Group Sex has become a staple in the punk genre and has gone down in history as a punk classic.
Group Sex is your typical punk album, full of distorted guitars, rapid drum patterns, punchy bass melodies and angered induced vocals. The songs throughout the record are nothing more than tracks to cause mosh-pits, high-energy audiences and headbanging.
Throughout the album, the songs are short tracks that are full of life inside. Not one track on the record is over 01:40 in length but the jammed pack intensity makes the songs feel complete. Songs like "I Just Want Some Skank", "Back Against the Wall", "World up My Ass" and "What's Your Problem" all contain an interesting flair to separate this album from a typical punk album. "I Just Want Some Skank" showcases frantic drum fills throughout, "Back Against the Wall" brings forth a different pattern on the ride cymbal that slows the song down a notch, "World up My Ass" contains catchy lyrical patterns that pairs well with the melody coming from the guitar and "What's Your Problem" showcases a slower laid back groove before transitioning back to the accelerated world of punk.
Other than some tracks, the record doesn't contain many other things to write home about. The most interesting aspect is the seamless transitions from some songs such as "I Just Want Some Skank" to "Beverly Hills", and "Don't Care" to "Live Fast Die Young". This album is surely a prowess for the genre given the time it came out, but overall it doesn't seem to matter to the overall scope of music in general.
While this is very much your typical hardcore punk album, the sound pounding out of the speakers is slightly different to make this entire record an enjoyable listen. While it isn't anything I can recommend right away, if you are interested in this genre, or are simply angry with the world, this record may be a good one to get you through anything. At only a little over fifteen minutes too (anymore than this and it would be a hard pass from me), it's a quick listen to make it worth your time...
Favorite Songs: I cannot comment on a favorite or least favorite as they all seem to blend together and start to sound the same.
Least Favorite Songs:
Production Quality:
Mix = 6/10 (Possible to hear mostly everything behind the explosive noise)
Innovation = 3.5/10
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 5/10
Lyricism = 4.5/10
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 5/10 (Classic punk vocal style)
Instrumental Timbre = 5/10
Group Chemistry = 8.5/10 (Tight playing where each member feeds off the energy of one another)
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 5.5/10
Overall Rating: 5.45/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!