Courtney Love may be largely credited as the first woman of feminist punk rock, but it’s Kurt Cobain’s previous girlfriend/muse that was always regarded as the Real McCoy.
With Courtney barely able to even find a record studio of late, the gate was wide open for ex-Bikini Kill heroine Kathleen Hanna to really drive her brand of feminist punk electronic music to the mainstream. After the modest success of their 1999 self-titled debut, the trio were snapped up by a major label, and the band, it seemed, were ready to make their presence felt within the annals of pop culture.
As the first fruits of that union, then, This Island makes for surprisingly bland listening. Sure, Hanna’s sneering vocals are still evident, as are the group’s trademark political leanings but the moneyed production does their agenda no favours.
‘Seconds’, with its grunge-synth, Beastie Girl vibe, gives good head-fuck, while ‘Tell You Know’ has plenty of bite, and the fuzzed out ‘On The Verge’ is nicely prickly.
The inclusion of the Pointer Sisters’ ‘I’m So Excited’ is certainly worth a mention. I’m sure there’s some kind of ‘feminist legacy’ reference there I’m not getting, but the actual cover itself – with its odd reggae spin – is just plain weird.
Although This Island sounds like it was a hell of a lot of fun to make, the whole album has a slightly disposable feel. Hanna has, rather nobly, stayed true to her political roots, but other riotous girls, like Peaches, are doing this whole grrltronica thing with far more élan (and marginally less facial hair).
Still, Kurt in all likelihood would have been proud.