Even among the grunge-punk bands of the late ’80s/early ’90s, there was something foot-stompingly primal about L7. The band’s music was fuzzed-out, four-on-the-floor rock that didn’t earn the sobriquet “heavy” so much as prove why the term should be applied to music in the first place. People didn’t go to L7 shows for Rush-style technical wizardry; fans were there for the raw three-chord churn of distorted mayhem. And, as the trailer for a new documentary, L7: Pretend We’re Dead, reminds us, it kicked ass.
After reuniting in 2014 following a nearly 15-year hiatus, director Sarah Price (The Yes Men) has put together a portrayal of the avowedly feminist group, culling more than 100 hours of archival footage and pairing it with new interviews to create a document of one of the grunge era’s most iconic bands. From the early days in California to single-handedly creating Rock For Choice, the band’s members have had a far-reaching influence beyond their music. Launched via a Kickstarter campaign, the film should help to create a history of this grunge-heavy, proto-riot-grrrl band. (One chapter in Everybody Loves Our Town is nowhere near enough record of its history.) No official release date yet, but some of us are already pulling our copies of Hungry for Stink out in anticipation. They’re currently on tour in Australia, but more U.S. dates will hopefully follow.