This Island

By signing to a major label, original Riot Grrrl Kathleen Hanna ensured that Le Tigre’s third album, This Island, would be heard by casual music listeners and dissected by her cult audience who'd be concerned by what it meant. Enlisting producer Ric Ocasek proved a shrewd move—few people understand music and pop songwriter better—and stirring tracks like “After Dark,” “Tell You Now,” and “Viz” had a perfect ally. Hanna sacrifices nothing, while the group’s electroclash style finally transcends the demo phase. As someone who feeds off new challenges, Hanna eventually put Le Tigre on hiatus and transformed her solo project The Julie Ruin into a band.