L7 “Best of the Slash Years”

sfilzen — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 14:20:21 +0000

L7 “Best of the Slash Years” 2000/2019 reissue, limited edition on green vinyl. This comp of hard-rocking, grungy punk/alt-metal songs pulls tracks from L7′s three albums on Slash Records: Bricks are Heavy (’92, produced by Butch Vig), Hungry for Stink (’94) and The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum (’97). It starts out with one of the greatest riot grrrl anthems ever, “Pretend We’re Dead,” from Bricks are Heavy which went to #8 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart in ‘92 and hit #21 on the UK singles chart. Also from Bricks are Heavy are “Mr. Integrity,” “Monster” and “Everglade.” I love Hungry for Stink and pulled from that LP are “Andres” (#20 US Alternative Songs chart and #34 UK singles chart), one of my favorites “Fuel My Fire” as well as “Freak Magnet” and “Can I Run.” I’m not as familiar with The Beauty Process – I’m not sure we have it in our collection – but the tracks from that album are almost as brutal, a tad more melodic than L7′s earlier work and also a bit heavy on the drinking theme: “Bad Things,” “Off the Wagon,” “Moonshine” and “Bitter Wine” (OK, “Moonshine” isn’t actually about the contraband liquor but the titles’ trajectory does work nicely for a boozing narrative).

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L7 “Burn Baby”

sfilzen — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 19:21:27 +0000

L7 “Burn Baby” b/w “Fighting the Crave” 2019 Record Store Day release on golden yellow vinyl. “Burn Baby” is the lead single from L7′s forthcoming album Scatter the Rats due out in May, their first LP in 20 years (which means that’s about how long it’s been since I last saw them perform, in September ‘99 while on tour for Slap Happy at The Globe here in Milwaukee – I’m pretty sure I interviewed at least one member of the band for my write-up for Shepherd Express but at the moment I can’t remember who). Scatter the Rats will – fittingly – be released on Joan Jett’s label Blackheart Records. “Burn Baby” is a grungy rocker from the one of the best Riot Grrrl bands of the 90′s, hard driving, catchy and with a chorus that snarls “Burn at the stake” shows L7 haven’t much mellowed in the past 20 years. The B-side’s “Fighting the Crave” will not appear on Scatter the Rats but this is no throwaway track. It’s more on the metal edge of grunge than “Burn Baby” but also has a great funky stomp and an absolute killer hook. I think I like it better than the A-side.

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L7 “Best of the Slash Years”

L7 “Burn Baby”