L7 - Wireless (Radio Session)

Released in 2016, Wireless (Radio Session) is a high-energy live album by the American grunge pioneers L7. The recording captures a raw performance originally broadcast for Australia's Triple J "Live at the Wireless" program during the height of the band's influence in the early 1990s. The nine-track setlist functions as a "best-of" from their seminal albums Smell the Magic and Bricks Are Heavy, featuring definitive live versions of hits like "Pretend We're Dead," "Shove," and "Shitlist." It remains a fan favourite for showcasing the band's signature blend of heavy sludge riffs and defiant punk attitude without the polish of a studio setting.

Originally recorded for Australia’s Triple J "Live at the Wireless" program in 1992, Wireless (Radio Session) captures L7 at the peak of their "savage sharpness" during the Bricks Are Heavy era. Unlike many polished live albums of the time, this session maintains the band’s signature "sludgy" and "feral energy," stripping away studio gloss to highlight the raw, grinding power of their road-tested tracks. The lack of overwhelming crowd noise in the radio mix places the focus entirely on the tight, pummeling chemistry between guitarists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, bassist Jennifer Finch, and drummer Dee Plakas.

The setlist acts as a definitive bridge between the band’s punk-heavy roots on Smell the Magic and the more accessible, grunge-defining hooks of Bricks Are Heavy. Tracks like "Deathwish" and "Fast and Frightening" are delivered with a "brutal" intensity that showcases their underground metal influences. Meanwhile, the radio setting provides a unique perspective on mainstream hits like "Pretend We're Dead" and "Everglade," where the band’s ability to mix caustic social commentary with infectious, simple riffs is most apparent.

Released officially on vinyl by Easy Action Records in 2016, the album serves as an essential historical document of a band that defied being pigeonholed as a "girl band" by simply out-rocking their peers. It avoids the pitfalls of nostalgia by sounding remarkably "vital and vicious" decades later, offering a "warts-and-all" performance that is as "fast and frightening" as the era it represents. For fans of the early 90s grunge and punk explosion, it remains one of the best ways to experience L7’s legendary stage presence without the interference of a hostile festival crowd.

Ripped to MP3

1. Deathwish

2. Diet Pill

3. Everglade

4. (Right On) Thru

5. Wargasm

6. Pretend We're Dead

7. Shove

8. Fast & Frightening

9. Shitlist