There's a simile in Lucretius' De Rerum Natura where the poet compares his work to the sweet honey doctors would put on the rims of cups to make bitter medicine more palatable. Good political pop music exploits the same loophole, and it's one that Le Tigre have used since their 1999 self-titled debut. Le Tigre was a subtle affair: Its sense of humor, its hummable hooks, and its light genre-hopping never compromised the band's heavy politics-- it just made them more sufferable.

As Le Tigre's major-label debut, the album had the potential to push the trio's political agenda into commercial radio country and ultimately turn a few unsuspecting heads. Which is maybe why This Island is so frustrating: The fuzzed-out opener "On the Verge", the Beastie Boys-parody-Le Tigre George W. Rant "Seconds", the Aqua Teen cartoon-punk of "Don't Drink Poison" and "TKO", the shockingly humorless "After Dark", and the Mr. Scruff lounge-by-numbers incongruity "Sixteen"-- each is immediately forgettable.

"New Kicks", Le Tigre's first commercial single, is a much sadder story. In the words of their publicist, the song is "a dance anthem made up of samples of anti-war speeches by Susan Sarandon, Al Sharpton, and others, punctuated by a 'Peace Up, War Down!' chant"-- and it sounds worse than anyone could have ever imagined. No track could be less indicative of Le Tigre's sound: There's no hook, and not one of the band members even sings here. That Universal has made this Le Tigre's first impression to mainstream listeners is confounding.

In contrast, the Ric Ocasek-produced "Tell You Now" is one of the band's best songs yet: catchy, poppy, utterly sophisticated (check that slick two-way monologue chorus), and steeped in Le Tigre's grrrlish sentiment. It's unusual territory for the band-- Kathleen Hanna checks her squeals at the door, her cool delivery contrasting with her livid lyrics. Judging from the track, Ocasek could have been the key to This Island's success, and it's a shame not only that they recorded just this one song with him, but that it wasn't even made the single.

If This Island failed musically but still got Le Tigre's message out, it could be counted as a minor success. But at this critical juncture in their career, Le Tigre seem tame: They're neither over-the-top nor subtle-- they're merely playing it safe. "Viz"-- short for "visibility"-- predicts lesbianism's wider acceptance, but hardly goes farther than, "They call it way too rowdy, I call it finally free"; the whimsical "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" goes the Avenue D and Fannypack route ("If you ask us how we want it we'll say man-to-man/ When you go to kiss our cheeks we're gonna put out our hands") but feels out of place on an otherwise overly deadpan release.

Towards the end of This Island, Le Tigre attempt a potentially meaningful cover of The Pointer Sisters' top 10 hit "I'm So Excited". Like The Pointer Sisters, Le Tigre have the chance here to push the limits of female sexuality in pop, to play with sex and gender stereotypes, to do all the sorts of things good covers can do. Instead, they merely pay homage to the original and then, halfway through the song, adopt a reggae beat for no apparent reason. The cover ends up being merely a squandered opportunity, which sadly sums up This Island as well.