- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
If Clear Channel didn't have the airwaves on lockdown, This Island would turn the thirteen-year-old girls of this nation into singing, stomping, rioting mobs demanding r-e-s-p-e-c-t.
-
If This Island failed musically but still got Le Tigre's message out, it could be counted as a minor success. But at this critical juncture in their career, Le Tigre seem tame.
-
Theirs is an unwelcome indie lyricism that lives in a vacuum, devoid of guttural expression and left to vacant, bumper-worthy slogans.
-
An album that's going to have the purists sighing with relief and have new converts checking out their back catalog for more.
-
We’re filled with consternation when we first give it a whirl.... Thankfully from [track 4] on in, it gets a damn sight better.
-
Whether thrashing out punk anthems Bikini Kill or turning out dancefloor-ready disco pop as on ‘This Island’, Hanna has always had something to say, and never has her message sounded so clear.
-
Money cannot change vocalist Kathleen Hanna's tendency to sound snotty rather than angry, which frequently leaves you feeling like you're being harangued by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's right-on classmate.
-
Mediocre... I'm just so used to this indie dance sound that Le Tigre just sounds boring in the context of Fall 2004.
-
Those who can overlook this slightly dumbed-down approach will find This Island is not without its moments.
-
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.
-
Pure, unadulterated aural pleasure.
-
The band remains committed to making its political pill go down as easy as possible.
-
Even more staunchly pop than their previous records.
-
When Le Tigre ventures out on an extended wire in a familiar direction with tunes like "On the Verge," "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo," and "After Dark," the ensemble proves that this long-awaited follow-up to Feminist Sweepstakes was not in vain.
-
A mostly "hit" but occasionally "miss" effort that showcases both the band's maturation and its residual shortcomings.
-
The band tries to stretch but trips over its own convictions.
-
Kathleen Hanna’s girlish yelp grates more than usual, practically bereft of charm, and her bandmates can barely write a functional song much less play one.
-
New Musical Express (NME)A shiny slice of mirrorball punk rock. [9 Oct 2004, p.57]
-
Under The RadarAvril Lavigne telling girls to abstain from sex is more punk than anything on this record. [#8, p.110]
-
Alternative PressA career-arching centerpiece. [Nov 2004, p.154]
-
UrbJust rock out to some really good music. [Jan/Feb 2005, p.96]
-
Q MagazineThis is the best yet from Kathleen Hanna's trio. [Nov 2004, p.130]
-
MojoQuality control slumps toward the end, but when they're good the're grrreat. [Nov 2004, p.110]
-
UncutToo much here is self-congratulatory sloganeering. [Nov 2004, p.110]
-
BlenderThey just sound cranky here, and their beats are mostly perfunctory. [Nov 2004, p.137]
-
SpinThe bleaty rhythms and abrasive guitars start to pile up willy-nilly, and some of the more techno sections sound like kids going bazonkers in a toy store. [Oct 2004, p.109]
-
Entertainment WeeklyThe band is throwing a dance party--albeit DNC-promoting--led by cheerleader choruses and beats that snap, skip, and glisten like something out of a '79 discotheque. [22 Oct 2004, p.95]
-
The WireLe Tigre make a convincing case for synthpop as an instrument of liberation theology. [#248, p.58]
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 11 out of 15
-
Mixed: 4 out of 15
-
Negative: 0 out of 15
-
Sep 16, 2022Not my favorite album by them, but you do have to agree that some songs are amazing.
-
RossJul 23, 2005There is no group as impassioned, wild savvy, politically hip and sexy as this trio. LONG LIVE LE TIGRE!!!
-
[Anonymous]Apr 10, 2005