L7
had the sound, style, and tough-grrrl attitude to hit it big in the aftermath of grunge's mainstream breakthrough, but unfortunately, the band was too often hampered by uneven songwriting.
The Best of L7: The Slash Years
collects four songs apiece from
Bricks Are Heavy
,
Hungry for Stink
, and
The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum
(although, as the title suggests, there's nothing from the fine
Sub Pop
album
Smell the Magic
). It's a pretty good distillation of the cream of those records, even if there are still a few tunes on
that could have made the cut on a less mathematically selected best-of. In fact, as
's most pop-oriented record,
is still a slightly more accessible introduction, since following that album, the band tended to rely more on sheer power than melody. Nevertheless,
does encapsulate what the group was all about, and it's a great way to dig deeper into their catalog without having to buy all the individual albums. ~ Steve Huey