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Le Tigre - This Island Audio CD

A fair review of the Le Tigre "This Island" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Le Tigre reviews here, or go back to the Le Tigre tabs.

Le Tigre Band: Le Tigre
Title: This Island
Rating:
Release Date: 2004-10-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: On The Verge 2: Seconds 3: Don't Drink Poison 4: After Dark 5: Nanny Nanny Boo Boo 6: TKO 7: Tell You Now 8: New Kicks 9: Viz 10: This Island 11: I'm So Excited 12: Sixteen 13: Punker Plus

Prime example of losing your edge
Selling out. There are a couple of phrases that come to mind when listening to this record. Commercial. Over priced producers. Despite the cry of foul when comparing this recording to prior recordings, how can it be avoided? I have been a fan for quite some time. I love all the other recordings. They have that riot grrl edge. This one? Get ready. Out of 13 songs, 2 are OK. The first two songs on the album. The rest seem to be over produced over synthesized voice overs of some past memory. I am all for that produced sound, but not when it is a departure from what LeTigre was in the past. At least I gave it 3 stars for "average". Meaning better than the other pop mush that the large recording companies seem to think that people should buy for a dollar a song. Fortunately I did not spend all that much on this. In fact, I found it for a penny in Amazon Marketplace. Just goes to show you, that some things are really valued properly. Note to LeTigre. . . take your money and run. . . then go back to doing what you did so well with less production and high priced studio time. Find your edge. This ain't it.


I wanna tell you now
The record is essentially flawed in more than one way, but nevertheless I love it almost to its core. I had to bring myself to the conclusion that I do, shockingly, enjoy This Island. It's poppy, catchy, accessible for the most part and it can be considered easy listening. The more they push on their political pop agenda, the more biased I get. I was ready to tolerate the rant of "Seconds", the playful "Don't Drink Poison" and even the pro-peace speeches of "New Kicks" (I suddenly found myself yelling "no blood for oil!").

The record starts with "On The Verge", which pushes all my buttons for its fuzzed-out guitars and semi-syncopated beats. Le Tigre have never sounded this fun on a record, and this being their major label debut, they made sure to place their best material on it. Each Le Tigrian gets to sing (check them out in the absolute standout "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" where they shift from one to another): Hanna flips from tuneless yelling ("Seconds") to tuneful singing ("Tell You Now"), JD Samson is something of a flirtatious, whimsical one ("You'll never get it/I guess this s**t is too new") and Johanna Fateman does a good job of keeping up with them.

It's their dancefloor and they have the jams for it ("TKO" blasts in with its almost cheerleading chorus). They hardly got any plays on the radio and they're still pretty much glued to their indie roots, but the surround sound of Island brings them to new heights. On the other hand, they seem tame from the lyrical aspect when compared to their older records. But it seems only natural because the music is what you should focus on this time around. The pop accessibility of the record makes up for its flaws. Seriously, so many sound textures are crammed in these thirteen songs, plus, they do everything from dance-punk ("Punker Plus") to quasi-lounge ("Sixteen") and for the third time in a row, they're enjoying themselves. Luckily for us, they're not the only ones.


Don't Get So Worked Up - It's Good
Miss Hannah has said the reason the sound was the way it was on earlier albums is because they didn't have the equipment to gloss up thier songs, believe me, I know how that feels. This album causes quite a bit of a stir with die hard Le Tigre fans who thought Le Tigre had lost their feminist edge and thought the production was too glossy.

Still, the first Le Tigre albums are brilliant but for me, this one is just as good. In fact, this is the one that gets the most play - call me a glossy production whore I guess but I like it. I think This Island still has the power and punch that make Le Tigre who they are.

"TKO" rocks, and every time I hear it, I just get up and punch the closest person to me - just kidding, but I do get up and jam. A crazy and very inspired cover of the Pointer Sister's "I'm So Excited" works well right along with the sometimes witty, sometimes bitchy themes the band has to offer. I can't believe this album is years old now, but I can tell you it still gets plenty of rotation on my spinners.

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Another Great Selection From Le Tigre
I originaly fell in love with the band while watching the movie "Better Luck Tomorrow. If you are a fan of Le Tigre, you'll this latest edition of their off-beat style of music. " Their song "Let's Run" is what originally drew me to the band. A nice alternative to most of the drab music on the radio.


Good album, bad album cover!
The music is alot of fun, but the cover. Seriously, I almost didn't buy this because of the cover. . . not so fun.


You can see a complete list of all Le Tigre discography, or go back to the Le Tigre tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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