L7’s ‘Bricks Are Heavy 30th Anniversary’ Tour will be stopping by First Avenue on Monday, October 17th!
The first L7 album in 20 years, Scatter the Rats (2019) embodies everything that made the band so iconic in the first place—the distortion-heavy riffs and headbanging rhythms, sludgy grooves, and indelible melodies. And in their lyrics, L7 achieves a direct transmission of raw feeling, often spiked with biting commentary on the chaos of the world today.
Working with producers Norm Block (Jenny Lee, Paper Cranes, Plexi) and Nick Launay (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), L7 recorded Scatter the Rats at Happy Ending Studios, and Sunset Sound in L.A., instilling each track with a kinetic vitality. Lead single “Burn Baby” opens the album with a galvanizing reflection on letting go of old grudges for the sake of fighting a greater evil, while “Fighting the Crave” offers a slice of life on the inner push and pull of whatever one might crave.
Having toured the world to massive sold-out crowds since in recent years, L7 are now augmenting their live set with their tonally eclectic new material. “Some of it’s dark, some of it’s funny, some of it’s ‘fuck you,’ but you can rock to all of it,” Plakas says of Scatter the Rats. And with further touring to come, the band looks forward to introducing a certain elusive element back into the musical landscape. “I think it’s good for people to enjoy a meat-and-potatoes rock band for a change,” says Sparks. “We’re not rocket science, we’re rock & roll. And there’s value to that, and we do it pretty well. So if you want to rock, come on back to L7.”
Get there on time because Fea is opening the show!
Fea is Letty Martiñez, Phanie Diaz, Jenn Alva, and Adrian O Connor from San Antonio, TX, signed to Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records. Born from the ashes of Diaz and Alva’s beloved former band Girl in a Coma, Fea got together in 2015 and soon carved out a kinetic sound shaped by the eclecticism of their homeland. “We all listen to punk and post-punk and riot grrrl music, and we grew up on oldies and Latin music stars and so many other things—so there’s this whole melting-pot effect that definitely comes out in the songs we write,” says Diaz. After putting out their self-titled debut—an album co-produced by Alice Bag, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace, and Babes in Toyland’s Lori Barbero—Fea earned acclaim from such outlets as NPR (who hailed the band as “Latina punk at its finest”), as well as Iggy Pop and soon began taking their rambunctious live show to venues across the country.
Tickets are still available HERE!
