| Smell the Magic | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | L7 |
| Cover: | Smell The Magic.jpg |
| Released: | September 1, 1990 |
| Recorded: | 1989 |
| Length: | 29:36 |
| Label: | Sub Pop[1] |
| Producer: | Jack Endino |
| Prev Title: | L7 |
| Prev Year: | 1988 |
| Next Title: | Bricks Are Heavy |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
Smell the Magic is the second studio album by American rock band L7, released in 1990 by Sub Pop.[2] Originally issued as a 12" EP containing only the first six songs, it was reissued on CD in July 1991, expanded to album length with three more tracks: "Packin' a Rod," "Just Like Me," and "American Society." The opening track "Shove" was released as the band's first single.
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music called the album "a raucous, grunge-flavored blast." Trouser Press wrote that "L7 still brings the noise, but with a melodicism that isn’t as evident on the first album."[3]
Rolling Stone placed Smell the Magic at #37 in their list of the 50 Greatest Grunge Albums, noting that "they were one of the few non-Seattle bands signed to Sub Pop," and the album "was an electric shock in a sea of grey." Likewise, the article mentions L7's formation out of Los Angeles' metal scene, then acting as a crossover act, and states conclusively that Smell the Magic is one of the "most widely cited as an inspiration by the next wave of punk and riot grrrl bands".[4]