Bricks Are Heavy

Bricks Are Heavy
Studio album by L7
Released April 14, 1992
Recorded 1991 & 1992 at Smart Studios in Madison, WI and Sound City in Van Nuys, CA
Genre Grunge, alternative metal, heavy metal
Length 37:28
Label Slash Records
Producer L7 & Butch Vig
L7 chronology
Smell the Magic
(1990)		 Bricks Are Heavy
(1992)		 Hungry for Stink
(1994)
Singles from Bricks Are Heavy
  1. "Pretend We're Dead"
    Released: 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]
Robert Christgau (A)[3]
Piero Scaruffi [4]
Kerrang! [5]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

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.

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 #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers album chart, and two weeks later it peaked at #160 on the Billboard 200.

Musically the album is heavier and dirtier than the band's previous recordings. While the band retained its punk and hardcore punk roots, there was more emphasis on heavy metal than before. It was produced by Butch Vig, who is renowned for his work with bands such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, and later Garbage.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Wargasm" (Sparks) – 2:40
  2. "Scrap" (Sparks, Gurewitz) – 2:53
  3. "Pretend We're Dead" (Sparks) – 3:53
  4. "Diet Pill" (Sparks) – 4:21
  5. "Everglade" (Finch, Ray) – 3:18
  6. "Slide" (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

Personnel

Additional personnel

Chart positions

Album
Chart Peak
Billboard Top Heatseekers 1 [6]
UK Albums Chart 24 [7]
Australian Album Chart 47 [8]
Billboard 200 160 [9]
Singles
Year Title Peak Chart positions
US
Mod		 AUS [10] UK [11]
1992 "Pretend We're Dead" 8 50 21
"Everglade" — — 27
"Monster" — — 33
"—" denotes singles that were released but did not chart.

Other success

The song "Pretend We're Dead" was featured on the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Rock Band 2. It was also featured on the US trailer for the movie Shaun of the Dead.

The song "Shitlist" was featured in both the 1992 sequel Pet Sematary 2 and Oliver Stone's 1994 film Natural Born Killers and its soundtrack. The song is/was used by professional wrestlers Jon Moxley in CZW, and Brian Pillman in ECW.

Accolades

References

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "allmusic ((( Bricks Are Heavy > Review )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r53919. Retrieved March 17, 2010. 
  2. ^ Brackett, Nathan. "L7". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 500, cited March 17, 2010
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "L7". robertchristgau.com, Retrieved on March 17, 2010.
  4. ^ Scaruffi, Piero. "L7". pieroscaruffi.com (Italian). Retrieved on March 17, 2010.
  5. ^ Chirazi, Steffan (4 April 1992). "L7 'Bricks Are Heavy'". Kerrang!. 386. London, UK: EMAP. 
  6. ^ "Bricks Are Heavy charts [albums]". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r53919/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved 2010-01-17. 
  7. ^ [1], UK charts page for Bricks Are Heavy by L7
  8. ^ "L7 - Bricks Are Heavy". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=L7&titel=Bricks+Are+Heavy&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-01-17. 
  9. ^ "Bricks Are Heavy charts [albums]". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/l7/bricks-are-heavy/45653. Retrieved 2010-01-17. 
  10. ^ "L7 Discography". austriancharts.at. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=L7&titel=Pretend+We%27re+Dead&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
  11. ^ "L7". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=6478. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 

External links

L7
Donita Sparks • Suzi Gardner • Janis Tanaka • Demetra Plakas
Former members: Jennifer Finch • Gail Greenwood • Roy Koutsky
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Live albums
Singles and EPs
Shove • Pretend We're Dead • Everglade • Monster • Andres • Drama • Off the Wagon • Freeway • Mantra Down
Video releases
Fast and Frightening • Pretend We're Dead • Everglade • Monster • Andres • Stuck Here Again • The Beauty Process