Le Tigre – This Island
Label: Strummer
Style: Electroclash, Post Punk, Alternative Rock
Released: 2004
My Grade: 3 stars
AMG: 4
Sounds like: X-Ray Spex, Atari Teenage Riot, Sleater-Kinney


I was so excited with the news of a new Le Tigre release, being a huge fan of Bikini Kill as well as electroclash it was a great wonder to hear the two combined on the first albums by Kathleen Hanna’s pet project, even if I was not a riot grrrl (not to mention standing for most everything they hate, ie – I am a man); unfortunately the news of them signing to a major label threw me off…that is so not punk rock.

So when I finally got the new album, I listened to it once, and then twice and a third time to make sure I heard it correctly, I proceeded to go and cry – punk was dead.

I would never call this a bad album, because it holds some of Le Tigre’s strongest works, and at the same time holds some of their weakest moments. The opening track is classic, a wonderful crash course into fun and exhilaration, quickly followed by “Seconds” the most Bikini Kill flavored song since the original band. Continue crashing through the cd, it still holds itself up through several songs. I will stop a moment to highlight “Nanny Nanny Boo Boo” as being the best track in their entire catalogue, with clever wordplay and a great beat this will hold you down as you brace for the mediocre that is still to come; “TKO” shows their newfound radio friendly-ness, but all in all it is not a bad track, keep walking. The album steadily goes downhill, with “I’m So Excited” being the crashing point, how could they ever, ever, cover a Pointer Sister’s song? Sure it does not sound bad, per say, but it sounds like something Aqua would do, not the legendary Kathleen Hanna.

Sometimes bands become way to involved with their fans, the connection is so strong that fans actually think they know the musicians and how the band should perform, so when a stylistic change comes, or a mediocre release is issued, the disappointed and backlash can be extreme. My disappointment in this album was hard and long, it would have made a perfect EP, with all the corporate fluff getting cutout, but as it is, alone, a weak testament to the former greatness in this seminal band.

Reviewed by: Samuel Aaron

Official Website: letigreworld.com