A song called Shitlist does not need much help explaining its mood. On Bricks Are Heavy, L7 follow that economy through titles including Wargasm, Diet Pill, Mr Integrity and This Ain’t Pleasure. Hostility is part of the appeal, but so is the refusal to make it sound noble.
Released in 1992, their third album put Butch Vig behind the desk after the band’s Sub Pop years. Pretend We’re Dead became the familiar single, but a 2026 Classic Rock reassessment argues that the songwriting elsewhere deserves equal attention. Its selection of Shitlist, Everglade and Wargasm is a reminder of how much survived outside that one enormous hook.
Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner started L7 in Los Angeles in 1985; Jennifer Finch and Dee Plakas completed the line-up associated with the breakthrough. Sub Pop’s account places early gigs at poetry readings, drag shows, art events and dive bars. That range of bills predates the convenient description of the band through the grunge boom alone.
Wargasm compresses militarism and gratification into one ugly joke. Shitlist turns resentment into a piece of personal administration. Those titles are specific examples of how the band uses humour: the contempt is allowed to be ridiculous as well as angry. A serious subject does not require the singer to become solemn.
The San Francisco bill is a good reason to return to the whole album rather than stop at Pretend We’re Dead. Its less celebrated titles still offer plenty to investigate: hypocrisy, boredom, bad company and pleasure that has gone wrong. L7 get to complain without making the complaint respectable first.