The initial dissolution of Black Flag was tough for fans to swallow. What made it go down easier, though, was that the group’s Keith Morris had another great band going, too: Circle Jerks. Forming in 1979, the band helped spearhead a new aggressive era for punk music. Their impact was immense and their work lived on in subsequent generations, as everybody from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Pearl Jam to the Offspring have cited them as an influence.
As Uproxx’s Joypocalypse notes, the band was “part of the first wave that turned punk into something harder, faster, and more agro.”
She says:
Their debut album [was] Group Sex, 14 songs in 15 minutes. 14 songs in fifteen minutes sounds like a gimmick, but it more so serves as a statement. Pink stripped down to its bare bones with added urgency. In terms of hardcore punk, this album is considered a landmark and helped define hardcore punk. Over the years, Circle Jerks have put out six studio albums, evolving but never losing that core urgency.
She concludes, “My personal favorite is Wonderful. It’s weird, it’s rough, and so unmistakably Circle Jerks. Every Circle Jerks album is a good one in my eyes.
Check out the video above.
