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
Background
Following the release of their earlier material on Sub Pop, L7 sought wider distribution and signed with Slash Records, which had recently secured a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records.
Recording took place at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, where drum tracks were completed, and at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin for overdubs. Sparks noted that Vig favored the drum sound at Sound City and opted to track drums there before completing the album in Madison. She also described Vig as meticulous in his production approach, particularly his emphasis on precise tuning and layered arrangements, contributing to a more polished sound. Guitar tracks were occasionally layered using different amplifiers, allowing comparisons between tones and enabling selective doubling when it enhanced the overall sound.
| rev2 = Chicago Tribune
| rev2score =
| rev3 = Christgau's Consumer Guide
| rev3score = A
| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev4score = A
| rev5 = Kerrang!
| rev5score = 5/5
| rev6 = Los Angeles Times
| rev6score =
| rev7 = NME
| rev7score = 8/10
| rev8 = Rolling Stone
| rev8score =
| rev9 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev9score =
| rev10 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev10score = 9/10
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." NME critic Angela Lewis called Bricks Are Heavy a "polished, virile white heat rock" record that "verifies their hard rock credentials completely" and demonstrates that L7 ought not to be pigeonholed as a grunge act. It placed at number 32 in The Village Voices Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with the poll's creator Robert Christgau ranking the album fourth on his ballot.
Legacy
Reviewing Bricks Are Heavy for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia said that Vig helped L7 "obtain a tight, compact sound" and sharpen their songwriting on what would be their "crowning achievement" and "an impossible act to follow".
Accolades
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Critical rankings for Bricks Are Heavy
! Publication
! Country
! Type
! List
! Year
! Rank
! class="unsortable"|
|-
| Treble
| scope="rowspan" rowspan=3|United States
| scope="rowspan" rowspan=4|All-time
| The 30 Best Grunge Albums
| 2016
| scope="rowspan" rowspan=2|15
|
|-
| Rolling Stone
| 50 Greatest Grunge Albums
| 2019
|
|-
| Loudwire
| The 30 Best Grunge Albums of All Time
| 2023
| 16
|
|}
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
;L7
- Donita Sparks – guitar, lead vocals (tracks 1–4, 8 and 10)
- Suzi Gardner – guitar, lead vocals (tracks 6, 9 and 11)
- Jennifer Finch – bass, lead vocals (tracks 5 and 7)
- Demetra Plakas – drums, backing vocals (track 3)
;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
Album
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
!scope="col"| Chart (1992)
!scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|-
!scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 24
|-
!scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 160
|-
!scope="row"| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)
| 1
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="3"|Peak Chart positions
|-
!width=25px|<br /><sup>Mod</sup>
!width=25px|
!width=25px|
|-
|rowspan="3" align="left"|1992
|align="left"| "Pretend We're Dead"
|| 8 || 50 || 21
|-
|align="left"| "Everglade"
|| — || 85 || 27
|-
|align="left"| "Monster"
|| — || — || 33
|-
|colspan="5" style="font-size:85%"|"—" denotes singles that were released but did not chart.
|}