This Island (Le Tigre album)

This Island is the third and final album by American dance-punk band Le Tigre. It was released by Universal Records on October 19, 2004. The album was the band's only one for a major label and reached number 130 on the Billboard 200.[1]

This Island
Studio album by
Le Tigre
ReleasedOctober 19, 2004 (2004-10-19)
Genre
Length43:21
LabelUniversal
Producer
Le Tigre chronology
Remix
(2003)		 This Island
(2004)		 Morning Becomes Eclectic (KCRW Live)
(2005)
Le Tigre studio album chronology
Feminist Sweepstakes
(2001)		 This Island
(2004)
Singles from This Island
  1. "New Kicks"
    Released: 2004
  2. "TKO"
    Released: 2004
  3. "After Dark"
    Released: 2005

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. Clubpositive[4]
Blender[5]
Robert Christgau[6]
Drowned in Sound[7]
The Guardian[8]
Pitchfork3.3/10[9]
PopMatters[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Stylus MagazineD+[12]

This Island received generally favorable reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 28 reviews.[2]

Katie Zerwas of PopMatters gave the band high praise for utilizing its new-found mainstream backing to craft dance-rock material that's both entertaining and mindful of their stance on gender politics, concluding with, "Smart and sexy, political and provocative, Le Tigre is the best and brightest of feminist rock."[10] Rob Theakston of AllMusic also applauded the band for putting a commercial sheen over their usual new wave formula while still retaining their ability to deliver biting commentary, concluding that "Of all the groups Universal could have chosen from this tired, depressing movement, they certainly chose the most honest and promising of the bunch and one whose full potential is just now starting to flourish."[3] Pat Blashill of Rolling Stone praised the upbeat production and confident lyricism for voicing the band's social problems, saying that "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."[11]

Alex Petridis of The Guardian was mixed about the album, saying that the production captures the band's live shows and political message but was put off by the vocal delivery, concluding that "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."[8] Pitchfork writer Nick Sylvester criticized the album for taking less risks with the band's attempt at commercializing its genre-hopping political tracks to the mainstream masses, concluding that it "ends up being merely a squandered opportunity, which sadly sums up This Island as well."[9] Derek Miller of Stylus Magazine felt the album toned down the band's penchant for delivering upbeat socio-political tracks that comes across more slick but soulless in its social message, saying that, "This Island is expertly produced at times, with a crisp, micro-edged flaunt that belies their gauche political discourse."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman and JD Samson, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."On the Verge" 3:31
2."Seconds" 1:45
3."Don't Drink Poison" 2:49
4."After Dark" 3:39
5."Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" 3:35
6."TKO" 3:24
7."Tell You Now" 3:33
8."New Kicks" 3:34
9."Viz" 3:34
10."This Island" 2:23
11."I'm So Excited"Trevor Lawrence, Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer3:49
12."Sixteen" 3:25
13."Punker Plus" 2:10
14."Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" (Arthur Baker vs Coleman & Spencer Smashter mix) (UK bonus track) 3:54
Total length:43:21

Charts
Charts (2004) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[1] 130
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[1] 5
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References
  1. "Le Tigre > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  2. "Reviews for This Island by Le Tigre". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  3. Theakston, Rob. "This Island - Le Tigre". AllMusic. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  4. Phipps, Keith (October 25, 2004). "Le Tigre: This Island". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  5. Wolk, Douglas. "Le Tigre - The Island". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Archived from the original on December 4, 2004. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  6. Christgau, Robert. "Le Tigre". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  7. Edwards, Tom (October 15, 2004). "Le Tigre - This Island". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  8. Petridis, Alex (October 8, 2004). "CD: Le Tigre, This Island". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  9. Sylvester, Nick (October 20, 2004). "Le Tigre: This Island". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  10. Zerwas, Katie (November 23, 2004). "Le Tigre: This Island". PopMatters. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  11. Blashill, Pat (November 11, 2004). "This Island : Le Tigre". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  12. Miller, Derek (December 14, 2004). "Le Tigre - This Island". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
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