Smell the Magic

L7: Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks (guitar, vocals); Jennifer Finch (bass, vocals); Dee Plakas (drums).
Engineers: Jack Endino, Michael James, Daniel Rey.
Recorded at Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, Washington; Radio Tokyo, Venice, California; Paramount Studios, Hollywood, California.
The fitting middle ground between L7's punky self-titled debut on Epitaph and its thunderous initial outing for Slash/Reprise, 1991's SMELL THE MAGIC finds the Los Angeles-based band fortunately situated at the Sub Pop label just in time for the grunge explosion. On this short, swift nine-track album, the women of L7 gleefully mix metal, punk, and classic rock, resulting in a sound that fiercely updates the Runaways' bold take on rock & roll and reveals a kinship to unrefined label-mates such as Mudhoney and Tad. Gender issues are addressed with the charming subtlety of a sledgehammer on the hard-charging tunes "Broomstick" and "Packin' a Rod," but the record's true highlights come from the one-two punch of the raucous shout-along "Shove" and the revved-up "Fast and Frightening." Armed with barnstorming three-chord riffs and plenty of attitude, L7 stakes out its turf on SMELL THE MAGIC, impressively laying the groundwork for its mainstream breakthrough, BRICKS ARE HEAVY.