This Island

Le Tigre | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Umvd Labels
• ASIN: B0002X9NWQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,690 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese release featuring a bonus track --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars grow with Le Tigre, January 25, 2005

By 

Elizabeth Caudy (Wilmette, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Island (Audio CD)

This is Le Tigre's first album with a major label (Universal). As such, it will not sound the same as their previous albums, but this one reflects their desire to reach a larger audience. (And what good activist wouldn't want to do that?) I, like many others, was at first turned off by the more polished sound of this album, but after giving it some time and a second listen, I really dig it. The concept of "electronic feminist punk" is as revolutionary as the ideas Hanna, Fateman, and Samson are expressing, and, I have to admit, that sound is better achieved on this album than on any of their previous, as close as Feminist Sweepstakes, self-titled, and From the Desk of Mr. Lady may be to my heart.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars We waited all this time for this?, January 17, 2005

By 

Ham Sammich (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Island (Audio CD)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but less "feministic" than their first two albums, September 17, 2005

By 

Nadia555 (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Island (Audio CD)

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.)