Bricks Are Heavy

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.

* Rolling Stone: “The Essential Recordings of the 1990s”
* The Village Voice: “Pazz & Jop 1992 Critics Poll: Albums” – #32
* The Village Voice: “Pazz & Jop 1992 Critics Poll: Singles” – #11 (“Pretend We’re Dead”)

The song Pretend We’re Dead was featured on the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Rock Band 2. The song “Shitlist” was featured in the Oliver Stone’s 1994 film Natural Born Killers and its soundtrack.