Le Tigre: Feminist Sweepstakes
Label: Mr Lady
Release Date: 2001
Review Date: 2003
Feminist Sweepstakes is the second full length release from Le Tigre. It’s kind of a letdown. It starts off promising with the "LT Tour Theme." Aside from having one of the funniest refrains ever, it ultimately gets sold short due to an unhealthy obsession with the vocal distortion, something Le Tigre tends to over use. "FYR" (Fifty years of ridicule) is another good one that suffers from the same fate, only worse. Ladies please, use the distortion sparingly. It’s like when someone discovers multiple fonts on a computer and they go nuts with 20 different fonts on each page. Likewise,"On Guard" is pretty powerful, but you’re likely to miss out on it unless you read the lyric sheet.
"Much Finer" is what it says. The second clear track, and the first one to really stand out on Feminist Sweepstakes on first listen. "Dyke March 2001" is another one that stands out even though it’s essentially one of those soundtracks-to-a-sampled-interview tracks. And yes, that is a genre. How cool is it to bring a tape recorder to a demonstration, record a chant and use it as the refrain in a song. It’s good for a surreal look into event if you weren’t there. Close your eyes. Imagine.
Ok, I’m ditching the song by song dissection. There are a lot of good tracks on this cd, most of which are in the middle. It’s the closest thing to a musical adaptation of a Marlys cartoon that I’ve ever heard. There are also several good songs with great messages and/or stories that get buried under poor production choices and not so imaginative arrangements. The low-tech sound has it’s own asthetic, but sometimes it becomes one monotonous blur. The feminist-performance-art-lesbian agenda can be a bit tedious at times, but it’s their punk rock. If you don’t like it, I don’t think their feelings will be hurt. Musically, Feminist Sweepstakes isn’t nearly as fun as their self-titled release is, but there are still some gems on it. Le Tigre is a cd you can put on and crank for the duration. With Feminist Sweepstakes you’ll find yourself not wanting to stray too far from the controls. Success may have made them lazy or arrogant, I’m not sure. The message and music don’t always connect on Feminist Sweepstakes. Le Tigre exists in a cocoon created by their crossover success and rabid following that threatens them with musical complacency. Here’s to hoping that the next Le Tigre release fires on all cylinders.
P.S.
Album cover of Le Tigre: crappy (good crappy)
Art for Feminist Sweepstakes: crappy (just crappy, except for the back.)
Online Action: http://www.mrlady.com/"
Official Le Tigre web site http://student.bard.edu/~ba935/front.html
They’d like you to do it yourself. Start here http://www.pinknoises.com/studio.shtml
No Tech:
Le Tigre 51 MacDougal Street #227 NY NY 10012
Mr Lady Records PO Box 3189 Durham, NC 27715-3189
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