Bricks Are Heavy

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]

Bricks Are Heavy
Studio album by
L7
ReleasedApril 14, 1992 (1992-04-14)
Recorded1991–92
Studio
Genre
Length37:28
LabelSlash
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

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[5]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA[4]
Los Angeles Times[8]
MusicHound Rock4.5/5[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[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
Publication Country Type List Year Rank Ref.
Treble United States All-time The 30 Best Grunge Albums 2016 15 [20]
Rolling Stone 50 Greatest Grunge Albums 2019 [21]
Far Out United Kingdom The 10 best grunge albums of all time 2021 4 [22]
Loudwire United States The 30 Best Grunge Albums of All Time 2023 16 [23]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wargasm"Donita Sparks2:40
2."Scrap"Sparks, Brett Gurewitz2:53
3."Pretend We're Dead"Sparks3:53
4."Diet Pill"Sparks4:21
5."Everglade"Jennifer Finch, Daniel Rey3:18
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
  • Paul Ryan – bongos
Production
  • Butch Vig – production, engineering, mixing
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering
  • Steve Marker – engineering
  • Mr. Colson – engineering
  • Elizabeth Hale – art direction
  • Jeff Price – art direction
  • Randall Martin – artwork
  • Vicki Berndt – photography
  • Arlan E. Helm – photography
  • Damion Romero – photography

Charts

References
  1. "L7 - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  2. "L7 - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (2000-06-24). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. Arnold, Gina (June 19, 1992). "Bricks Are Heavy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  5. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Bricks Are Heavy – L7". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  6. Christgau, Robert (2000). "L7: Bricks Are Heavy". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. p. 185. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "L7". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. Gold, Jonathan (May 3, 1992). "L7, 'Bricks Are Heavy', Slash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  9. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "L7". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  10. "L7: Bricks Are Heavy". Q (67): 76. April 1992.
  11. Berger, Arion (September 17, 1992). "L7: Bricks Are Heavy". Rolling Stone. p. 94. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  12. Harris, Keith (2004). "L7". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 500. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "L7". Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  14. Christgau, Robert (June 1992). "L7, Roches, Yo Yo, Rosie Flores". Playboy. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  15. Kot, Greg (May 7, 1992). "L7: Bricks are Heavy (Slash)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  16. "Albums And Tracks Of The Year: 1992". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  17. "Pazz & Jop 1992: Dean's List". Robert Christgau. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  18. "The 1992 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Robert Christgau. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  19. "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)". Spin. May 11, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  20. Treble staff (October 6, 2016). "The 30 Best Grunge Albums | Treble". Treble. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  21. "Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden: 50 Best Grunge Albums". Rolling Stone. April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  22. Starker, Arun (May 12, 2021). "From Pearl Jam to Nirvana: The 10 best grunge albums of all time". Far Out. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  23. Loudwire staff (January 10, 2023). "The 30 Best Grunge Albums of All Time - Loudwire". Loudwire. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  24. "Australiancharts.com – L7 – Bricks Are Heavy". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  25. "L7". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  26. "L7 Discography". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
    • "Everglade": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 159.
  27. "L7". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
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