Feminist Sweepstakes [Bonus Track]

1	LT Tour Theme 2:46
2	Shred A 2:46
3	Fake French 2:53
4	FYR 3:15
5	On Guard 3:30
6	Much Finer 2:33
7	Dyke March 2001 Mix 4:37
8	Tres Bien 3:08
9	Well, Well, Well 4:19
10	TGIF 3:18
11	My Art 2:01
12	Cry for Everything Bad That's Ever Happened 2:41
13	Keep on Livin' 5:38
14	Well, Well, Well Multimedia Track

Barnes & Noble

Like generations of politico-punk forebears as varied as the Clash and Chumbawamba, this unflinchingly topical, fiercely feminist trio have accepted the notion that you can catch more flies -- or unsuspecting listeners -- with honey than with vinegar. On Feminist Sweepstakes, their second full-length outing, Kathleen Hanna and company don't skimp on the energy, but the shift toward giddy, new wave-ish sounds is pleasantly jarring and undeniably booty-shaking. On the self-referential "L.T; Tour Theme," booming basses and happy faces accompany the assertion, "For the ladies and the fags, yeah/We're the band with the roller-skate jams" -- and doggone it, by song's end, the trio make you believe it. Similarly skittish, Gang of Four-meets-ESG cerebro-funk vibes endow "My Art" and "Fake French" with multiple tiers of both provocation and mirth, making Feminist Sweepstakes as much fun to consume as it obviously was to cook up. David Sprague

All Music Guide

On Le Tigre's second album, Kathleen Hanna is no less radical, but her politically charged agenda sounds a bit callous and simple. And that's no accident: Hanna is simple. The concept behind Le Tigre, and the thing that differentiates it from her previous band, Bikini Kill, is that the drum machine rules. Each of Feminist Sweepstakes' 13 songs plink along to the rat-a-tat-tat beat of programmed percussion. The political outline is just a side-effect. And Hanna straddles the line between cheeky and obnoxious throughout. It's certainly her lack of humor that makes this an arduous listen; it's her punk sensibilities that keep it at least interesting. She's fierce and committed in a way that hundreds of her rock-rap foes aren't. Hanna's enemies are bigger this time, and for a simple-minded gal, that's a huge step forward. Michael Gallucci