L7 : Releases >>

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Bricks Are Heavy  >>

Smell the Magic  >>

Hungry for Stink [Us Import]  >>

The L.A. quartet was already way up in the grrl pantheon when this disc put them over the top. "Hungry for Stink" delivers a primitive, sludgy, and pissed-off sound, but listen closer for the sonic invention on tracks like "Shirley, She Has Eyes" and "Riding With the Movie Star." --Jeff Bateman

Bricks Are Heavy  >>

The Best of L7: the Slash Years  >>

These LA-based girl rockers first formed in the mid-1980s, but their irreverent boogie punk-metal didn't really take off until they signed to Slash Records in 1991. They looked the look, walked the walk and churned out rebel songs of love, lust, paranoia and PMT. Featuring 12 songs from the three albums they recorded for Slash between 1992 and 1997, L7 urge you in the sleevenotes to play this compilation loud. "Hope your ears bleed," they add cheerfully. Included here is their stage-diving hit anthem "Pretend We're Dead", the cartoon sarcasm of "Bad Things" ("I had some things to do today / my head just got in the way") and "Freak Magnet", a heaving, brooding swamp monster. As they advise, play loud for maximum effect. --Lucy O'Brien

L7  >>

The Beauty Process  >>

Still getting a visceral kick from the simple thrill of hearing their own amplified voices on tape, the members of L7 kick off their fifth album with a mike check-"Yo! Hello! Hey!"-followed by two ear-shattering screams. The Los Angeles quartet has always had a hard time being heard for exactly what they are: a great punk-metal band, as opposed to a great female punk-metal band. But the group doesn't waste any more time making that point on The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum than it has on its previous four albums, choosing instead to get right to the business of making your eardrums ring.

L7 suffered a key defection before this album when bassist/vocalist Jennifer Finch quit, frustrated perhaps by a decade of hard touring that has won a cult following and not much more. But guitarists/vocalists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner rose to the occasion with producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, the Muffs). They tip the balance a bit more toward the metal end of the spectrum in terms of stomping rhythms and slower tempos (though not extraneous guitar solos), while excluding none of their usual so-stupid-they're-brilliant Ramones-style hooks. The subject matter will be familiar to fans: Sparks and Gardner bitch about loser boyfriends and other "Bad Things," celebrate their status as bad girls by jumping "Off the Wagon," show their romantic streak on the touching '50s-style "Moonshine," and paraphrase the voracious Iggy Poo on "I Need" and "Must Have More."

Sadly neglected in a pop landscape dominated by lightweights like Alanis Morrisette and Sheryl Crow, L7 can be forgiven for being bitter and questioning the IQ of the populace at large with a song called "The Masses Are Asses," especially because the moment is a fleeting one. Ultimately, the band is about partying hard and rocking yourself silly, and it's your loss if you decline their invitation. Jim Derogatis

Hungry for Stink  >>

The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum  >>

Still getting a visceral kick from the simple thrill of hearing their own amplified voices on tape, the members of L7 kick off their fifth album with a mike check-"Yo! Hello! Hey!"-followed by two ear-shattering screams. The Los Angeles quartet has always had a hard time being heard for exactly what they are: a great punk-metal band, as opposed to a great female punk-metal band. But the group doesn't waste any more time making that point on The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum than it has on its previous four albums, choosing instead to get right to the business of making your eardrums ring.

L7 suffered a key defection before this album when bassist/vocalist Jennifer Finch quit, frustrated perhaps by a decade of hard touring that has won a cult following and not much more. But guitarists/vocalists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner rose to the occasion with producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, the Muffs). They tip the balance a bit more toward the metal end of the spectrum in terms of stomping rhythms and slower tempos (though not extraneous guitar solos), while excluding none of their usual so-stupid-they're-brilliant Ramones-style hooks. The subject matter will be familiar to fans: Sparks and Gardner bitch about loser boyfriends and other "Bad Things," celebrate their status as bad girls by jumping "Off the Wagon," show their romantic streak on the touching '50s-style "Moonshine," and paraphrase the voracious Iggy Poo on "I Need" and "Must Have More."

Sadly neglected in a pop landscape dominated by lightweights like Alanis Morrisette and Sheryl Crow, L7 can be forgiven for being bitter and questioning the IQ of the populace at large with a song called "The Masses Are Asses," especially because the moment is a fleeting one. Ultimately, the band is about partying hard and rocking yourself silly, and it's your loss if you decline their invitation. Jim Derogatis

From Osaka Or Omaha  >>