le tigre : Releases >>
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Le Tigre >>
Le Tigre's self-titled debut is a wonder of postmodern, lo-fi indie rock. Ex-Bikini Kill Riot Grrrl Kathleen Hanna has toned down the tuneless rage of her former band, and with the assistance of her artsy friends Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning, has created an album of tuneful rage. Pop songs, no less. Casting a critical eye over the contemporary urban scene they inhabit, Le Tigre is packed with acerbic wit and referential wordplay shouted against a backdrop of guitars, sythesizers, beats, samples and, apparently, anything else to hand in the studios and bedrooms where it was recorded. "What's Yr Take On Cassavetes" starts off with a Shangri-Las-inspired spoken intro, before launching into a shouted debate about the merits of the film director ("Misogynist?/Genius?"); "Hot Topic" namedrops dozens of feminist icons; and "My My Metrocard" attacks the controversial policies of New York City mayor Giuliani ("He's such/A fucking jerk/Shut down/All the strip bars/Workfare/Doesn't work"). A raw, inspired and altogether promising debut. --Robert Burrow END
This Island >>
Feminist Sweepstakes [VINYL] >>
Feminist Sweepstakes is the second Le Tigre album, and Kathleen Hanna's most direct political statement yet. Irascible femme-punk firebrand Kathleen Hanna has never been the sort to take a seat on the ideological fence, but pretty much her entire recorded canon wilts like a shrinking violet in the face of Feminist Sweepstakes. Dedicated to "the ladies and the fags", Feminist Sweepstakes--released on the label of kindred electro-pop spirits Chicks On Speed--lays out its manifesto with a righteous zeal: these 13 tracks cover everything from the death of feminism ("FYR") and take-back-the-power lesbian militancy ("Dyke March 2001") to gender politics on the dancefloor ("LT Tour Theme") and the drudgery of wage slavery when "your boss is an asshole" ("TGIF"). But where, in Bikini Kill, Hanna dealt primarily in screechy punk-rock, Le Tigre mine a seam that tethers distorted vocals and treble-heavy guitars to the clatter of beatboxes and electronic loops. Sadly, there's nothing here to contend with the ballsy dancefloor pop rush of "Hot Topic", Le Tigre's flagship tune from the trio's eponymous 2000 debut. Still, it's refreshing that it's still all right for grrrls to get angry: in a world of half-arsed plagiarists and apathetic musical journeymen, Le Tigre are the rare band that really matter. --Louis Pattison
Feminist Sweepstakes >>
Feminist Sweepstakes is the second Le Tigre album, and Kathleen Hanna's most direct political statement yet. Irascible femme-punk firebrand Kathleen Hanna has never been the sort to take a seat on the ideological fence, but pretty much her entire recorded canon wilts like a shrinking violet in the face of Feminist Sweepstakes. Dedicated to "the ladies and the fags", Feminist Sweepstakes--released on the label of kindred electro-pop spirits Chicks On Speed--lays out its manifesto with a righteous zeal: these 13 tracks cover everything from the death of feminism ("FYR") and take-back-the-power lesbian militancy ("Dyke March 2001") to gender politics on the dancefloor ("LT Tour Theme") and the drudgery of wage slavery when "your boss is an asshole" ("TGIF"). But where, in Bikini Kill, Hanna dealt primarily in screechy punk-rock, Le Tigre mine a seam that tethers distorted vocals and treble-heavy guitars to the clatter of beatboxes and electronic loops. Sadly, there's nothing here to contend with the ballsy dancefloor pop rush of "Hot Topic", Le Tigre's flagship tune from the trio's eponymous 2000 debut. Still, it's refreshing that it's still all right for grrrls to get angry: in a world of half-arsed plagiarists and apathetic musical journeymen, Le Tigre are the rare band that really matter. --Louis Pattison
Le Tigre [VINYL] >>
This Island - Remixes >>
After Dark >>
From the Desk of Mr Lady [Us Import] >>
This Island [VINYL] >>
After Dark [7" VINYL] >>
