L 7
L7's heavy, punk-inflected, riff-oriented guitar grind -- a mix of the Ramones, Motorhead, and Joan Jett -- was what earned them a dedicated following of fans in the early '90s, not the fact that they were female. While the band is strongly feminist, they never let their rhetoric stand in the way of their roaring guitars. L7 always relies on the sheer sonic aggression of rock, not its lyrical power.
When the group was on Sub Pop early in the '90s, the band sounded punkier and more abrasive; signing to a major label didn't cause them to lose that aggression -- they just had a better production, courtesy of Butch Vig ( Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth). Featuring "Pretend We're Dead," 1992's Bricks Are Heavy was a major alternative hit; their second major-label album, the coarse Hungry for Stink, was released right before L7 toured with 1994's Lollapalooza. The acclaimed Beauty Process: Triple Platinum followed in 1997, and a year later the group issued Live--Omaha to Osaka.
~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide