L7

One of the defining acts of both grunge and riot grrrl, the Los Angeles quartet L7 combined no-nonsense politics and a feminist spin on rock 'n' roll attitude with crushing riffs and deceptively catchy hooks. Formed in 1985 by vocalist-guitarists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, L7 filled out their lineup with bassist Jennifer Finch and drummer Roy Koutsky before releasing their self-titled debut in 1988. Koutsky left in late 1989 and was replaced by Demetra "Dee" Plakas; that year L7 put out "Shove"/"Packin' a Rod", a blistering 7-inch that was part of the storied Sub Pop Singles Club. Sub Pop also released Smell the Magic, which included the menacing "Fast and Frightening", in 1990. In 1991 the band founded the abortion-rights organisation Rock for Choice, and in 1992 L7 put out their breakthrough third album, Bricks Are Heavy, which was recorded with Butch Vig and included the chugging slacker-protest song "Pretend We're Dead" as well as the rage-fuelled "Sh*tlist". Over the rest of the decade, L7 released three more albums, including 1997's expansive The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum. They went on indefinite hiatus in 2001, which ended when the Smell the Magic lineup reunited in 2014. Since then, L7 have toured extensively, released 2019's Scatter the Rats and been the subject of a documentary, L7: Pretend We're Dead.