Bricks Are Heavy is the third album by the Los Angeles band L7, released in April 1992 through Slash Records. Backed by the single "Pretend We're Dead", the album became a breakthrough hit and the band became the "poster girls" of grunge music.[citation needed]
The album was released shortly after grunge had broken into the mainstream with the surprise success of Nirvana's Nevermind. In July 1992, the song "Pretend We're Dead" gained popularity among American rock radio stations, where it received regular airplay. By late August, the album had reached No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers album chart, and two weeks later it peaked at No. 160 on the Billboard 200.
Musically the album is heavier and dirtier than the band's previous recordings and described as "catchy tunes and mean vocals on top of ugly guitars and a quick-but-thick bottom of cast-iron grunge" by Entertainment Weekly.[2] While the band retained its punk and hardcore punk roots, there was more emphasis on heavy metal than before.[citation needed] It was produced by Butch Vig, who is renowned for his work with bands such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth and, later, Garbage.
Track listing
| 1. |
"Wargasm" |
Donita Sparks |
2:40 |
| 2. |
"Scrap" |
Sparks, Brett Gurewitz |
2:53 |
| 3. |
"Pretend We're Dead" |
Sparks |
3:53 |
| 4. |
"Diet Pill" |
Sparks |
4:21 |
| 5. |
"Everglade" |
Jennifer Finch, Daniel Ray |
3:18 |
| 6. |
"Slide" |
Suzi Gardner, Sparks |
3:37 |
| 7. |
"One More Thing" |
Finch |
4:07 |
| 8. |
"Mr. Integrity" |
Sparks |
4:06 |
| 9. |
"Monster" |
Gardner |
2:56 |
| 10. |
"Shitlist" |
Sparks |
2:55 |
| 11. |
"This Ain't Pleasure" |
Gardner, Caivano |
2:42 |
|
Total length:
|
37:28 |
Personnel
- L7
- Additional musician
- Production
- Butch Vig - producer, engineer, mixing
- Howie Weinberg - mastering
- Steve Marker - engineer
- Mr. Colson - engineer
- Elizabeth Hale - art direction
- Jeff Price - art direction
- Randall Martin - artwork
- Vicki Berndt - photography
- Arlan E. Helm - photography
- Damion Romero - photography
Chart positions
Other success
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The song "Pretend We're Dead" was used in the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Rock Band 2. It was also used in the US trailer for the movie Shaun of the Dead.
The song "Shitlist" was used in both the 1992 sequel Pet Sematary Two and Oliver Stone's 1994 film Natural Born Killers and its soundtrack. The song is or was used by professional wrestlers Jon Moxley in CZW, and Brian Pillman in ECW. CM Punk, now under contract with WWE, used the song as his entrance theme while on the independent circuit.
Accolades
- Rolling Stone: "The Essential Recordings of the 1990s"
- The Village Voice: "Pazz & Jop 1992 Critics Poll: Albums" – No. 32
- The Village Voice: "Pazz & Jop 1992 Critics Poll: Singles" – No. 11 ("Pretend We're Dead")
- The Village Voice: "Pazz & Jop 1992: Dean's List" - No. 4
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: L7". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved on March 17, 2010.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ [1], UK charts page for Bricks Are Heavy by L7
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
|
|
|
|
| Studio albums |
|
| Compilation albums |
|
| Live albums |
|
| Singles |
|
| Related |
|
[1]
