Circle Jerks - Group Sex (1980)

This album is Group Sex by Circle Jerks. Look at the album title, then look at the band title. Obviously a hardcore album judging by those two things alone, it's one of the earliest hardcore punk albums, and front man Keith Morris (the original singer for Black Flag) and guitarist Greg Hetson (later to join Bad Religion) are both pretty big names in the world of hardcore.
The first track, "Deny Everything", opens up fast and loud, the drums and guitar chugging along. Coming as soon as it's gone, the song lasts only 28 seconds, following the principle that one you get what you want to say out, why keep going? I liked it a lot. "I Just Want Some Skank" comes in a bit slower, with Morris singing as opposed to yelling this time. Talking about how he drinks to forget about a girl, stealing liquor, and then fucking women to feel better, the song is almost about lost love, or as close as a hardcore band can get. The third song, "Beverly Hills", is what you'd expect a bunch of punks from California to think of Beverly Hills. First complementing how pretty and clean it all is (beating Weezer to the punch by 25 years) before declaring them "lame", the heaviness and speed once again carries the message more than the lyrics.
Next up is "Operation", a song about what seems to be getting a vasectomy. It moves by in 1:30, the third longest track on the album, and still flies past almost too fast to discern. "Back Against The Wall" opens with the closest to a guitar solo I've heard yet on the album, and instead of the constant chords heard on the rest of the album a sort of riff is played (though comprised of the same chords). Featuring a guitar solo, this shows Hetson can play his instrument, separating him for many of the hardcore guitarists of the same time. The track then goes back to the intensity of the rest of the album, but it still offers a nice change of pace. Next up is "Wasted" where Morris yells of how wasted he was, and not much else for 43 seconds. "Behind the Door" is another typical hardcore song, but a good one, describing all the things that lay behind the door of Room 13, drugs, hookers, thugs, and who knows what else, before suddenly deciding not to stay there. What's the point of the song? I don't know, but I like it.
Side 2 opens with "World Up My Ass" another speeding song, but Morris is easier to hear than usual. Describing how they should tear apart the rules of society, and not listening to what anyone has to tell you, it's the most standard hardcore motto, presented very plainly before a short but sweet guitar solo. Following is "Paid Vacation" opening with a gloomy, Dead Kennedy's-esque guitar riff, discussing going on a "paid vacation" from the government. Describing it as an oil company scam, done for Uncle Sam, it's an obvious protest song against some military operation. "Don't Care" is next and in a short 36 seconds describes a pretty simple ideal, not giving a shit about anything. "Live Fast, Die Young" is a punk motto, in a lot of ways. "I don't want to live to be 34 / I don't want to die in a nuclear war" manifests both the extreme punk lifestyle as well as the fear of impending nuclear holocaust, which almost three decades later is still a looming possibility.
"What's Your Problem" comes up next, and fast, not leaving much room to consider its simple vocals. Featuring a built-up in the middle "What's Your Problem" stands out from the rest. "Group Sex" features a spoken section in the middle, describing a sort of place where couples all go to explore sexual fantasies as a group, including a phone number (I wonder whose?) it has no real depth past the title. "Red Tape" is fast. Really fast. A direct attack on taxes and how they are hurting the people, it closes out the album in only 57 seconds.
This album is fast. It consists of 14 tracks, and has an overall length of only 15 minutes and 40 seconds, short even by hardcore standards. Going between typical political rants and ramblings about drugs and sex, it is really typical hardcore fare, but the obvious ability of the musicians (particularly Hetson's guitar playing) propels it above most early hardcore.

7/10