L7: The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum

L7 is a virtual household name, thanks to its Lollapalooza prominence, heavy promotional hype, and status as one of the biggest all-woman rock bands around. The problem is that L7's albums have never quite lived up to the buzz: Bricks Are Heavy was a bit too slick and mechanical, especially as a big-label debut, while 1994's shrill Hungry For Stink overcompensated and met mostly with public indifference. And though it peters out a bit near the end, The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum gets it right at last, with songs that are anthemic but not burdened with excessive polish. The unstoppable "The Masses Are Asses" is the album's finest moment, to be sure, but it's rivaled by scrappy, deliriously enjoyable mayhem like "Off The Wagon," a debaucherous pro-drinking rave-up that ought to find a place on jukeboxes for years to come.