Bricks Are Heavy

L7: Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks (vocals, guitar); Jennifer Finch (vocals, bass); Demetra Plakas (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel: Pauli Ryan (bongos). Recorded at Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin and Sound City, Van Nuys, California. 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.