Le Tigre
This Island (Strummer/Universal)On This Island, the ladies of Le Tigre stand alone with a programmed beat for their revolution, but something has been lost in vexation. What made Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna’s former band so influential was its ability to be one part feminist anthem to two parts cathartic punk. When Hanna started Le Tigre in 1999, the message was the same, albeit in a new medium: electro-pop. And it was good. What this major label debut suffers from is mediocrity. And, you see, that’s bad. It might not be entirely fair to compare Island to their invective self-titled debut, but it is a departure from lo-fi drum beats, aerobic handclaps, and snarly call-and-response. Instead of urgent politic-jams, Hanna and bandmates Johanna Fateman and J.D. Samson layer flat soda rants over dense beats. There’s even a cover of the Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited” – a song full of riotous, booty-slappin potential – that Le Tigre sullies with an inexplicable reggae-oke breakdown. It hurts. There are a few saving graces: The Ric Ocasek-produced “Tell You Now” is Le Tigre at its finest, and the title track sums up the current war in three urbane lines: “Rent’s high, and the war’s on. And it’s last call. Even your friends look worried.” With a desire to reach a wider audience, there always comes some compromise. Le Tigre’s battle cry for revolution, girl-style, has now been sweetened for mass consumption. It shouldn’t go down this easy.
This article appears in January 14 • 2005.