Le Tigre

This Island (Universal)
by Evan Solochek

Oh, how I adore Le Tigre. They can do no wrong in my opinion. Kathleen Hanna’s seething siren howl blaring over Johanna Fateman’s chunky, fuzzed guitar and JD Samson’s writhing and cranking beats is simply perfection to my ears. What could be better than an overt political agenda and unabashed crassness coupled with a take-no-shit-from-anyone demeanor and matching homemade stage outfits? In a word, nothing. Okay, so enough of my drooling, I have an album to review.

This Island marks Le Tigre’s third full-length studio effort and their first with Universal’s major label support. As with their previous two albums, Le Tigre shrewdly combines raw dance tracks with more melodic and placid, well, dance tracks, which is precisely the genius of Le Tigre. No matter the tone or tempo of the song, they’re able to infuse an infectious beat that you cannot help but dance to. While This Island comes off as a bit too anthemy at times – specifically with the anti-war protest samples of “New Kicks” and the chanting refrain of “TKO” – it’s nonetheless quintessential Le Tigre, which is to say, amazing.
(www.universalrecords.com)