L7 Bricks Are Heavy CD

After two well-received albums for revered indie labels (Epitaph and Sub Pop), the all-female rock group L7 signed with Reprise Records amidst the grunge boom of the early 1990s. The band's major-label debut, BRICKS ARE HEAVY, finds the Los Angeles-based quartet running with its newfound opportunity, and enlisting Nirvana producer Butch Vig (later of Garbage) to shape its punk-influenced "riot grrl" aesthetic into a bigger, more formidable sound.

While previous L7 outings had a charming DIY vibe, BRICKS ARE HEAVY lived up to its title, presenting weighty, surging, guitar-laden tunes such as "Scrap" and "Everglade." The disc's standout track, though, proved to be "Pretend We're Dead," a minor hit that boasted a glam-rock riff, a supremely catchy chorus, and the no-frills vocals of guitarists Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks, evoking rough-and-tumble precursors the Runaways. Although L7 released a number of records after BRICKS, none of them fared as well critically or commercially, making this album the clearly marked peak of the band's career.

Recorded at Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin and Sound City, Van Nuys, California.

L7: Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks (vocals, guitar); Jennifer Finch (vocals, bass); Demetra Plakas (drums, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Pauli Ryan (bongos).

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.52) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (9/17/92, p.94) - 3 Stars - Good - "...BRICKS is rich with daring, dazzling moments...powerful..."
Spin (5/92, p.79) - Highly Recommended - "...Sometimes bluesy and rockabillyish, sometimes churning and slow, the sum total is just plain cathartically groovy..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/19/92, p.71) - "...catchy tunes and mean vocals on top of ugly guitars and a quick-but-thick bottom of cast-iron grunge...simultaneously fun and furious, an intensely appealing combination..." - Rating: A
Q (4/92, p.76) - 3 Stars - Good - "...noisy, greasy and a lot cleverer than most rock music...L7 thrive on simple power and aggression..."
Option (July-Aug./92, p.113) - "...a sound that is so violently loud and unrelenting that you are literally spent when it's over...ferociously moving. This is rock & roll in its most basic and purest form..."
Village Voice (3/2/93, p.5) - Ranked #32 in the Village Voice's list of the 40 Best Albums Of 1992.