Bricks Are Heavy

Last updated
Bricks Are Heavy
L7 bricks are heavy.jpg
Studio album by
L7
ReleasedApril 14, 1992 (1992-04-14)
Recorded1991–92
Studio
Genre
Length37:28
Label Slash
Producer
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
  2. "Everglade"
    Released: 1992
  3. "Monster"
    Released: 1992

Bricks Are Heavy is the third studio album by American rock band L7, released on April 14, 1992, by Slash Records. The album peaked at number 160 on the US Billboard 200 [1] and number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart. [2] As of June 2000, Bricks Are Heavy has sold 327,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. [3]

Contents

Production

Produced by the band and Butch Vig, 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 . [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]
Christgau's Consumer Guide A [6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Entertainment Weekly A [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
MusicHound Rock 4.5/5 [9]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 9/10 [13]

In a contemporary review for Playboy , Robert Christgau regarded Bricks Are Heavy as an "object lesson in how to advance your music by meeting the marketplace halfway", although he believed it would not sell as much as it deserved. He said Vig helped L7 produce grunge-metal featuring "intense admixtures of ditty and power chord" that "never quite gathers Nirvana's momentum, but it's just as catchy and a touch nastier." [14] Greg Kot was less enthusiastic in the Chicago Tribune , writing that there were not many good songs such as "Slide" and "the performances-while certainly ferocious-aren't sufficiently varied enough to make up the difference." [15]

NME listed it as the 39th best album of 1992. [16] It was ranked at number 4 on The Village Voice 's "Pazz & Jop: Dean's List", [17] as well as number 32 on their "Pazz & Jop: Critics Poll". [18] In 2015, Spin placed it at number 249 on the "300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)" list. [19]

Legacy

Bricks Are Heavy is now regarded as one of grunge music's best albums. Treble's Brian Roesler credited L7 with helping to define "the very best of early grunge" through the album's fusion of pop and metal musical elements. [20]

Accolades

Critical rankings for Bricks Are Heavy
PublicationCountryTypeListYearRankRef.
TrebleUnited StatesAll-timeThe 30 Best Grunge Albums201615 [20]
Rolling Stone 50 Greatest Grunge Albums2019 [21]
Far Out United KingdomThe 10 best grunge albums of all time20214 [22]
Loudwire United StatesThe 30 Best Grunge Albums of All Time202316 [23]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wargasm" Donita Sparks 2:40
2."Scrap"Sparks, Brett Gurewitz 2:53
3."Pretend We're Dead"Sparks3:53
4."Diet Pill"Sparks4:21
5."Everglade" Jennifer Finch, Daniel Rey 3:18
6."Slide" Suzi Gardner, Sparks3:37
7."One More Thing"Finch4:07
8."Mr. Integrity"Sparks4:06
9."Monster"Gardner2:56
10."Shitlist"Sparks2:55
11."This Ain't Pleasure"Gardner, Phil Caivano2:42
Total length:37:28

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

L7
Additional musician
Production

Charts

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This is the discography for the American rock band L7.

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