Search - Le Tigre :: This Island

More synthetic but just as genuine

Jenny | chicago, Il | 10/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Island is the first album since Le Tigre signed onto Universal, i.e.: a larger major label. This album is much more polished than those previously released and this has pros and cons. While the songs on this album could easily be heard on the radio, at a club or even as a backdrop for a commercial...they can seem less authentic at times. If you didn't pay attention to the lyrics you might find it to be formulaic and slightly uncharacteristic of this imaginative band....but the lyrics remind you of whom you are listening to. From the get-go, this album made me question what is said in fun and what is sincere, but I think they felt the need to sort of poke fun at mainstreaming and the balance between being music artists* and conveying eco-feminist messages.

The song "On the Verge" is an electro-rock song that is infused with eighties inflection. "Seconds" is one of my favorite songs. Kathleen belts out politically driven lyrics with an energy that brings Bikini Kill to mind. My only complaint is that it reminds me of "Punk singer" off of Hanna's solo album which was made with the intention of making fun of the generic quality of many punk songs. "Don't Drink Poison" seems to be a song about being anti-sellout and wanting fans to not take information out of context. I value the organization of the lyrics: choppy and inverse at times. There is a whirling sound that has a nightmarish quality in the background. "After Dark" is a really sexy song that is both danceable and thoughtful. It is my favorite, a song to go on repeat or for car boredom. "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" is a sassy high-beat song with plentiful gender references and one to Cynthia P Caster's Foundation. "TKO" is a chanting reprimand that moves from synthesized stanzas and obvious choruses to a climatic wave before coming to a closure.

"Tell You Now' is a soothing confrontation to past abuse and a gives a voice to past experience that is expected to fade or be suppressed. "New Kicks" is a pro-peace anti-bush anthem. It is the dyke march song for No War. "This is what democracy looks like; this is what democracy sounds like." It is a historical record through song representing the minority that speaks up. "This Island" is a catchy dance song that speaks to the isolation of self and a remembrance of what makes us feel alive. "I'm So Excited" is yes, a cover song, but done with enough originality that it is good. I think it could have done without some of the syllable repetition and emphasis but the reggae hook is quite cute and obviously it is hot to listen to them sing about seduction. "Sixteen" is a slow and rhythmic song about breaking up and wondering what if something could have been different......or not. "Punker Plus" is a really cute song with a signature Le Tigre creativity. It is funny, sarcastic, and genuine and makes you love these girls because they are working it hard for all the right reasons.

Alright, so I gave the album a 4 and maybe now I wanna give it a five but I still think there is a loss of real hand claps, shattering glass, dogs barking and typewriters.......not those things specifically, but you know. Still, buy it. It is good music and you should dance in your kitchen and car to something that says more than blah, blah blah.

"

We waited all this time for this?

Ham Sammich | Columbus, OH United States | 01/17/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Where to start? I've been listening to Le Tigre for several years now and am a fan of Bikini Kill and all the rest. I've always liked Le Tigre's new take on feminist music; atypically sassy but matches intensity with the rest of them. Good stuff.



I don't have a problem with the production like others do. It's slick and that's great. I've never been of the school that seems to decree that simpler is always better. It's high-quality and they were able to push the limits of creativity with all the cash that befell them once they went major label. The low-fi-ness is no longer a crutch for credibility. So in that sense, they probably had to work harder to make a great album.



Unfortunately, that seems to be the real problem here. They seemed to have worked so hard on everything else, they forgot to write good songs. The songs lack soul, which is what I think was Le Tigre's greatest asset. The best of the album is their single, TKO, which is nothing more than a retread of their other anathematic masterpieces on S/T and Feminist Sweepstakes. So they came up with something great, unfortunately, it's the same song they wrote three times before. I first heard JD's little opus live and thought it was slightly annoying, but a groovy tune nonetheless. And again, one of the better songs on This Island is only average compared to the works of art they put out on their two previous full-length albums. I'm So Excited is sort of funny. Reminds my husband and I of when the girls from Saved By the Bell started a group and Jesse was really stressed and on drugs. They sang the same song in the locker room at school and Le Tigre's rendition sounds strikingly similar on the album.



Some of the songs are downright awful. Nanny Nanny Boo Boo sounds like something that a weak, local imitation of Le Tigre would have come up with in 1998. Seriously, that was the best they could come up with? The chorus is reminiscent of the pseudo-feminist crap that we all put up with years ago. And as hard as I try, I just can't wrap my head around Don't Drink Poison. I'm wondering if it's supposed to be "fun" or something. It reads like bad poetry. Further, in principal, I support such a blatantly anti-war message as New Kicks projects, but in practice it just comes off as lazy. They could have come up with so much more new politic (given the current climate) in songwriting than they actually produced here.



In general, the album sounds pretty good but it really lacks intensity and innovation. I'm not ready to give up on them, though. I think they had more money than they knew what to do with and perhaps misdirected it. I hope their next major label effort is generally more focused.

"

Fun, but less "feministic" than their first two albums

Nadia | Sydney, NSW Australia | 09/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Like most people, I have mixed feelings about This Island. It's basically a fun, glossy record with fantastic beats. While Le Tigre's first two albums were loaded with reference material for young feminists to check out, This Island is mostly devoid of content. This isn't always a bad thing, however, as the silliness replacing the content can be genuinely fun. What we get here is electro-pop, with punk flourishes used more sparingly than on the first two albums.



It feels like a completely different band. Songs like 'On the Verge', 'After Dark' and the witty, catchy, 'Nanny Nanny Boo Boo' are fresh and danceable, but if you've heard the first two albums then you can't help but feel a little wistful, and ask yourself, "What happened to the feminism?" Which isn't to say there aren't political songs here; because there are. Three, to be exact. 'Seconds' is the album's punk song; an indictment on George W. Bush that features some embarrassing, simplistic lyrics, but that doesn't matter too much as you can barely hear them anyway (Kathleen shows off her trademark squeal on this song.) 'New Kicks' uses a punk-rock sample to background some anti-war speeches, but seems to exist mostly for the video. 'Viz' is my favourite song on the album. It's JD's butch lesbian manifesto; about going clubbing, the butch/femme lesbian subculture, sexuality, and liberation. 'TKO' is fun and anthemic, but to the band's own admission the song is about absolutely nothing, and unfortunately that nothingness extends to too many of the songs, threatening to define the album itself. 'Don't Drink Poison' is the album's weakest moment -- a hodge-podge of guitar samples, electro music, and bad rapping about how "chicken caesar grows on trees".



Ofcourse, this album is a million times better than the other trash we're subjected to -- despite a few awkward lyrics, it's essentially smart pop music, which is a rarity these days. However, This Island has the least "heart" of their three full-length albums -- there are no book or cd recommendations/references to be found here, which disappointed me personally and does detract from the Le Tigre experience a little, as this album seems to lack the soul and militant feminism that were Le Tigre's whole schtick in the first place, and what made them special and different.



Le Tigre sound more confident than ever here, and they're definitely one of the better, smarter bands of the electro genre. The problem is, this album doesn't seem like it was meant to last -- it's happy to make you dance right now (and make no mistake, it's got groove in spades) and raise consciousness about Bush, but I'm not sure it will stand the test of time (or if it's even meant to.)"