Live Through This

Se nota algo de Kurt

This album is one that I heard all the hits off of when it came out, they felt right at home with other alternative acts. It sounds better so many years later with more mature ears. It's a solid album all the way through with only a couple of misses. Biggest Hit - Violet Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - Gutless Hidden Gem - She Walks On Me

cool i guess

12 songs Actually really good. I had never listened to any of Love's music prior to this, and for some reason I had this idea in my head that it must've sucked. Pleasantly surprised to say that I was wrong!

Love killed Kurt! Fuck her!

Yo, this was pretty damn good 🕳️🕳️🕳️🕳️

I love hole

Another Hole album that exceeded my expectations. I never listened to them at the time because I always thought Doll Parts was annoying and I probably let myself get driven by the media narratives around Courtney Love as well. But Violet is a great song and there are a bunch of other really good songs on here as well. And in context of the album, Doll Parts fits nicely. Will definitely listen to this again.

This album was note made for me.

There are a couple songs on here I like, but the rest kind of run together.

I knew a lot more of this album that I thought I would. It was nice to get a female perspective on the grunge movement even if it came with a lot of baggage...

2.5 - I like this more than I thought I would in middle school when I never listened to it, but less than I wanted to.

I'm pretty sure these are the Celebrity Skin people so I thought they were gonna be a super cool female rock band and like if you're married to Kurt Cobain I have kind of high expectations for your music. It was just a bit whiny and shouty and not in a catchy or enjoyable way so a hell of a let down.

this sounds a lot like early foo fighters

3,0/5

Decent album. Liked the energy and the vocals match well with the music. 3/5 Might listen again

Of all the albums from this era, I don’t think I ever would have chosen this one to have aged well and held up over time, but here we are

Pas vraiment aimé l'album dans son entièreté mais quelques sons sont sympas

There’s a point about a minute into opener violet that the band just tears into you and it pretty much doesn’t stop from that points. This is music built on rage, pure white knuckled rage . Courtney Loves voice is a howl and at times cracks under the pressure. It’s a visceral jolt of an album and all the better for it

the woman who wrote 'Credit in the Straight World' and 'Dollparts' is an honorary trans woman, as far as im concerned. this album rules

Je to ich počúvateľnejšia forma.

this was so fun!!!!

more mainstream than I thought it would be and I liked it more than I thought I would!

Did not enjoy

Noisy, angry and with an attitude. Also packs a lot of great songwriting - the hooks pop! I love the distorted guitar on here, makes it sound even angrier. It's another grunge album that sounds like nothing else in the genre, but it's damn brilliant.

Courtney Love does grunge so well. Way more fun to listen to than Kurt Cobain.

There are some good tracks. I genuinely think "Doll Parts' is a great song. However, much of it feels middle of the road, at least at this point, and it's hard to compare to even early to mid grunge at the time. I just think I can get most everything Hole tries to deliver in this album with a Sonic Youth album, and the latter will be on a higher level.

A grunge classic. I apologize to Courtney Love.

Damn didn't realize Courtney Love had that dog in her. I'm ashamed I didn't know

Mejor album que me cruce hasta ahora

You know, I am a bad girl? I never listened to this album. Tracks from it, sure. But never, have I ever actually listened to a Hole album. Such a bad feminist. Bad bad bad. Ok. At the time I stayed away from all things Nirvana, all things Courtney and Kurt media madness. Call me more of a Mazzie Star kinda girl. Courtney Love has such a reputation that I don’t believe I have ever felt the need to break through and actually listen to her work. I am glad this project made me do it. This is an awesome album. It’s too… long? It starts out strong. I am familiar with those first few tracks. All the way through Doll Parts. And then the closer, Rock Star. Maybe because I know Olympia WA from just a few years later the way I do, this closer is… perfect. So the middle loses me for a minute. Maybe on another day this would get a 5. 4 Boolean: True

A very good punk album, deeply rooted in themes of feminism and injustice, which color not only the text, but also the tone. The songs feel spiteful and angry in the best of ways - the exact tone punk was made for.

A voz dela vende o disco inteiro. Maravilhoso e cheio de atitude e garra. Escuta extremamente satisfatória, que te prende e não te solta. Ótimo disco. 5/5

A capa do álbum me lembrou 'Carry a estranha' assim que eu bati o olho. Tem uma pegada punk e uma guitarra incrivel, principalmente mais para o meio do álbum. Interessante saber que a música "jennifer's body" inspirou Diablo Cody, a diretora do filme de mesmo nome, anos depois. Antes de descobrir isso, eu estava achando a música um tanto 'gestures to make you more femenine and elegant' (a playlist de filmes), porque de fato é. Infelizmente, essa banda não é tão reconhecida como deveria.

Courtney Love and Hole have never got the kudos they deserve for this hard rocking musical piece of work.

Man, these chicks can rock! Hole is so much more than the meme they have become for better or worse because of the Courtney Love baggage. But this one rips, beginning to end, no prisoners taken or fucks given.

2.5 - ok

I have been dreading this day, and I really am shocked how backloaded the project has been for me. No Bowie, no Beatles, not even any Dylan or Costello, but thank god I get to hear Courtney Love. Who, of course, I have heard, because you don't ride the coattails of the most important figure in 90s rock and allow people to avoid you (unlike L7, Bikini Kill, Babes in Toyland, and any number of other female led grunge and riot grrl adjacent bands that had twice the talent and none of the coattails). The most iconic image I will ever have of Courtney Love is her throwing her compact at the balcony while MTV News’ Kurt Loder was interviewing Madonna. There was no substance to Courtney besides desperation for attention back then, and it says a lot that the only person who still seems to reliably tolerate her as a human is Billy Corgan, who I love despite myself but is also desperate for someone, anyone to listen to his very important ideas. And that, let's be honest, rubs off on the album. You don't really want to like music by someone who everyone you've ever heard get to know the artist thinks they're a terrible human. And while Hole makes a real compelling argument from the get-go with Violet (a song that, let's be honest, sounds exactly like Billy Corgan writing a song for a woman with Smells Like Teen Spirit production), it immediately spirals. “Miss World” borders on unlistenable… Violet cuts through with rage. Miss World exposes a tone deaf and one-note reality once you get into a looser jangle-grunge. The rest sort of oscellates between the two poles: “Plump” does nothing to quell the “Kurt wrote this” rumors (that chorus is deeply “Milk It” coded), “Jennifer's Body” alternates Kim Gordon Novocaine Voice with a less successful rehash of Violet. That's sort of just the vibe, like Courtney pulled out one song and then cobbled together 11 more songs from disparate parts of better bands who did not have the same label push. And sure, I have no doubt that growing up an angsty boy instead of an angsty girl probably plays a role in not being able to connect to this. Again, for me the feminist stuff was done better elsewhere too, but since this was THE album being pushed from that scene that was also by a woman, that probably made a difference. But at the end of the day this is an album that doesn't make me want to hear it. One thing that does stick out? The production. This feels like it was recorded, and written, and performed, in some abject hovel. It gives X-Files “Home” vibes. When Courtney screams “someday you will ache like I ache,” you do believe that she's aching, because it is impossible for me to hear Doll Parts and not hear unfinished basement jail cells, yellowed flickering lights… the dolls the parts are from are those smudgy sticky ones at the bottom of the toy chest. And that really is a sound that sets the album apart. I just wish the songs were better, the vocals were better, the person was better. ⭐️⭐️

It’s OK, but I’m not sure what is exceptional about this?

Everyone can hate on Courtney Love but damn Hole was good. Angry female rock at its finest, really focusing on the crap that women go through and the crazy expectations, and how mad, sad, angry and just pissed we get. Love the music and the way they can put out into the world these feelings.

This was super rockin' and produced pretty flawlessly. Love her lyrics and her energy!

Not as strong as I remembered

Generic, garage grunge rock. Top tracks: “Miss World,” “Doll Parts”

as with many, idk why it's on this.

--Violet...grunge-tastic --Miss World...no thanks --Plump...nice, chunky guitar sound. not much else to it --Asking for It...could be a throwaway Nirvana track --Jennifer's Body...basically "Violet" --Doll Parts...no thanks --Credit in the Straight World...cover --Softer, Softest...just not feeling this --She Walks on Me...they settle into a solid groove here --I Think That I Would Die...the dingo ate your baby --Gutless...like the chunky sound again. don't care for the vocals --Rock Star (Olympia)...sounds like every other song on the LP

Started awful, but there's actually some charm to it.

Of course this mid 90's teen had this cassette tape blasting out the speakers while driving around the suburbs in her dad's Lebaron convertible on the way to pick up girl friends and one gay boy to go publish a zine, dye our hair Crimson Glow, or listen to slam poetry at a coffee shop. Yes, Live Through This is that specific. 1994 was an amazing time to be a young feminist. And hey, anyone else think it's awesome that 2026 has brought back baby doll dresses and maryjanes? I'm so tickled.

This is among the best ever examples of this kind of rock (whatever genre you'd prefer to call it). Say whatever you want about Courtney Love, but she sounds like the real deal on this album.

Omg this is such a badass album. But also heartbreaking to think that Kurt passed days before this was released and never got to see Courtney kick major ass in this.

A couple of standout songs, a couple of average songs. Not the biggest Hole fan, but still a pretty good album. Mid 4.

It was fine.

Whoa, is that the girl from the hit Alex Cox film Straight to Hell? I wonder if she's famous for anything else. I'm fond of this sound, but this isn't, like, a prime example. It's kinda noisey (J Mascis influence noticeable), kinda repetitive (as this kind of thing often is - not a knock, just saying it doesn't move beyond the trope), and the lyrics aren't super great and her voice isn't, either. It's just fine. Not sure why it's on this list save for her screentime opposite Joe Strummer (not famous for anything else, surely).

Great album that fit in with the rise of Grunge and Punk in the 90s

Cooles Album, kickt richtig

viel zu laut und Gebrülle. Mag Grunge anscheinend nur wenns von Nirvana ist.

Verstehe den Hype nicht

Really liked it, especially Violet.

Not bad - I don’t think this one has aged badly. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it

BUENISIMO uno de los mejores albums para chicas enojadas

Solid enough, if a bit commercialised grunge in places, which feels at odds with the DIY aesthetic that it originally curated. Don't hate it but it's never going to set my world alight.

Angst alt rock in the melodic grunge realm. Generally a good, honest, raw listen with some solidly memorable songs. But it starts to run a bit together for me and doesn’t really stand ahead of the pack of other grunge and alt rock that I like from the time, though I do appreciate the sound and topics being filtered through a woman’s lens

Meh, nothing stood out and not a fan of this genre specifically.

Bändin kolmas levy on tutumpi. Tätä kuuntelin ensimmäistä kertaa. Soitto oli ihan ok, mutta biiseistä ei jäänyt mikään erityisesti mieleen.

I think it very powerfully captured female rage. I loved the themes of poetic lashback against abuse, bulemia, and women being treated as objects. “Asking for it”s lyrics resonated as I believe it would for most women. I don’t like the sound of her actual singing though and the music style- love what it stands for not what it is haha

It’s fine. But feels a little bit desperate and isn’t very melodic

Nice to revisit! Better than I remembered it!

not very interesting

It was good but her voice grates on me.

i like her voice

6/10 Divertido, movido, me hace acordar a un viernes de locos, buen album

Pretty cool, especially the song about Olympia (still holds true today) but not quite a 4* album.

The singles off this album still hold up as some of the best songs of the era.

Omg this hits so hard. Courtney Love has it.

Solid grunge. Courtney is talented, not sure about the replay value for me

tenía muchas ganas de que me toque para escucharlo, destaco mucho su voz. pero siento que le tengo que dar otra escucha (que no sea en el colectivo) para prestarle más atención

UHH MITKÄ KITARAT?? guunasin laulu lowk hyvät energiat ja tuff, levy jäi ehk kaipaa jotai rauhallisempii biisei mis vähä vähemmä huutolauluu? varsinki biisien alut peak!

Meh

2.8

Pretty cool rock songs

Lady rock with balls?

Empty metal-inflected alt rock that strings together a bunch of power chords and pretends it's a song. Courtney Love theatrically oversings her way through the tracks on this record which only underscores how emotionally hollow this pantomime is.

WOOOHOOO HOLES TIME BABBYYYYYY

Great album!

Loved this album!

The best thing about the record is that it understands contradiction. It wants beauty and despises what beauty demands. It wants love and distrusts dependence. It wants power but knows how often power arrives contaminated.

Pretty decent.

I just felt like this album was pretty forgettable.

ughhh

Just kind of boring really. No standout tracks, just some by the numbers vaguely grungey music played well enough by a band who wouldn't be remotely as big as they are if not for their lead singer's marriage. That's not to shit on them entirely, it's fine enough, nothing amazing, but based on their songwriting and performance, is their success and fame proportional? Not really, no. They're average as hell, and so is this album. All the songs languish around the 6/10 mark, competent enough, yet not particularly interesting or essential. Some lyrics are quite good and have something important to say about the lived experience of women, however, the songs as a vehicle for delivering these lyrics are nothing to write home about. I'm intrigued by the start of most of these songs, and by the end I'm left with a sense of "oh, was that it?"

Very punk rock, pretty cool too.

I have mostly always sort of been a Hole hater. Maybe not a "hater," per se, but certainly an avoider. You see, kids, in the pre-internet days, any salacious rumor you heard about pop culture or celebrities was absolutely true. And I heard Courtney Love was responsible for her husband's death, and he happened to be in my favorite band. Not only that, but she was accused of riding his coattails and therefore not a "real" musician (which I'm guessing because she's a woman). There were a couple songs of theirs on MTV I wouldn't change the channel on, and maybe secretly enjoyed. It was something of a shock to me to see Hole has TWO albums on this list. Listening to their other one, I gave up all preconceived notions Courtney Love didn't count, wasn't a skilled musician, and decided she, in all likelihood, didn't kill Kurt. Also, I enjoyed the fuck out of that album. This one? Probably even better. I wasted a lot of time not listening to good music because my 14 year old self would believe anything and apparently make up my mind and a part of my personality I didn't even know about until I was in my 40s. Oh, the album! Um, the rhythm section! Wow! The bassist and drummer sound so locked in, and I LOVE the bass-forward mix. Courtney's vocals are incredible, great guitar riffs. Just melt-your-face off screaming grunge. I love it. I don't think there's a song on the album not worth talking about. Immediately started this again when it was over

Reminds me of why I’m so glad I am a Gen Xer. One of my favorite albums.

This is horrible.

Raw, heavy and powerful from start to finish. Courtney Love makes this album a statement on how women can make great rock albums, a pioneer and unapologetically herself. Heavy guitars and vocals, it's so good.

This was a good album, but... I don't know, I just didn't vibe with it as much as the other Hole album I heard through this. The instrumentation was there, Courtney Love's voice was good, the songwriting was fine, but I just didn't totally get into it.

Grei musikk, går litt vel i feil retning for mø

i liked it

I don't know the album or the artist, but it sounds good.

Pretty fun - kinda like bikini kill, lots of talk of milk. Kinda same-y though

Punky, heavy grunge music. Didn't expect this. It's pretty cool. I can hear stuff that sounds like that Seattle grunge sound we know best from Nirvana. There's some loud quiet loud stuff here too like Nirvana and their heroes Pixies. I liked this much more than I thought I would. Didn't know Love could do that growly screamy thing.

I enjoyed this (my wife hated it)

Feral feminine fury 💪

Angry grunge. Almost like a woman-led Nirvana... wonder if there's any connection? :-)

So much better than you remember…even if you adore it.

imagine kurt singing these songs

Enjoyed the album for the most part I'd say, not much else to say

I already knew I'd give this 5. An album that shaped my teenage years. Saccharine angst and Love's snarling vocals make for a corker of an album. Favourites are still Violet and Asking For It.

Absolute classic, love it so much

its a bit too good if you ask me...

Aw yeah, probs one of the best grunge albums there is tbh. I think grunge was really nothing without the women involved, Courtney Love gets a lot of stick and I think sometimes people overlook how talented she was in the midst of all the mess. Such well observed lyrics and songs that slap, just real good stuff!!

Hole > Nirvana sorry lads but it's true. This is a classic big time banger that really holds up - so good you let Courtney Love get away with *a lot* of mad bullshit even to this day. Probs my fav grunge album??

I didn't mind this album, I love a female led punk group, but this album is missing something - cohesion, novelty? 3/5

Do I hate grunge? Or do I hate grunge done by men? Or do I really just like primal rage taken out on my eardrums? 4.5 stars, rounded up.

Surprisingly coherent punk , enjoyed the ability To capsulate hectic moments within a melodic flow

Courtney Love is an absolute force on this album. One of the greatest albums of one of the greatest eras of music.

middara

Music like this makes me feel like I'm in a pub basement somewhere in London listening to a grunge band thrash on a drum kit and sing undecipherable words into an echoey room. That's not necessarily a criticism, the grunge rock vibes just transport me to that place, with how raw and honest it is. On the whole I enjoy the album, it's a good listen with a few strong highlights, but as with the type of gig I refer to there's something about it that washes over me and doesn't feel particularly memorable. 6/10.

This is just not my thing. I like some pop and some punk and lots of grunge. But this is a mixtrue of the three that seems to be the worst of all worlds. Do not recommend.

honestly I get it. I dig the feminine rage. I won't listen to it all the time. but i could see myself returning to this when I'm in a mood. 4.5/5

Had one to two songs that I felt weren't too bad, but overall this album just wasn't my vibe. Grunge is very hit or miss for me.

Courtney Love’s voice is bloody amazing on this. A reminder that a good frontperson can be all you need.

So much better than celebrity skin! Less polished, but all the better for it

Esse trabalho do Hole é magnífico! Toda angústia e Raiva de Love e sua banda estão bem representadas. É um trabalho muito significante do rock alternativo dos anos 1990. TRIxHBB Kai.

Upbeat, good.

Love this when it came out and it still holds up.

A bit one-note.

Favorite Track: Jennifer's Body

Very familiar with Celebrity Skin but this was just as good and a bit more raw. Asking For It was a standout.

Menetteli, ehkä parempi kuin odotin. Toki hitit oli parhaat biisit levyltä. 3,75/5.

Wasn’t familiar with most of this album before listening, besides the first song. Liked the angry girl rock sound and the all the songs matched the vibe well.

As one would expect from a debut of a punk/grunge group, this is more raw than later offerings. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

This is a real gem for me. I already had one Hole album before this one, a more recent one, and I didn’t have high expectations for this one. I was wrong. It’s authentic grunge from that era, with Courtney’s incredible vocals.

I wanted to like this, but grunge continues to keep me at arms length. Maybe because I didn’t live through it?

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of Hole in general. The album is fine enough, but I certainly wouldn't seek it out. The sound is just a little grating.

So good! I really like this genre and I tend to enjoy it even more in the rare instances when they have frontwomen.

So I am torn on this one. A great use of rock for righteous outrage. And the symbiosis with nirvana is clear. But I get worn down by it rather than energised. Maybe I am just getting older.

Classis

Review - never listened to a full album. It's good, but it just made me want to listen to other better alternatives rock of the era. Score - 6.5/10 Need to listen? NO

I was a fan of grunge back in the day, but Hole/Courtney Love was not a band I took seriously. For no other reason than I just bought into the negative narrative about her. That being said, I never listened to this album until today. One of the hardest parts of this project is putting aside preconceived notions about artists and trying to listen without prejudice (thanks George Michael). Sometimes I think I'm better at it than others, but I really tried today. And I'm very glad that I did. I really liked this album a lot. It is definitely grunge, but also a bit more punk sounding at times. There is the quiet-loud-quiet part for sure, but not every song has that dynamic. And the band can rock out and Courtney can sing the hell out of a song. Standouts were Miss World, Asking For It, Softer Softest, I Think That I Would Die, and Rock Star. There were no songs I didn't like.

Good intro and outro but middle is mid

Aika tasaista renkutusta 2,5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wasn’t as bad as it could have been but I’m never gonna be in the mood to turn this on.

I wasn’t expecting much so it beat expectations for me. 2.5

Finger the hole

A couple of okay songs but mostly pretty boring.

Interesante

This is pretty good! The album opens on a great note with "Violet," and is pretty interesting throughout. Courtney Love's vocals are great and there's a number of stand-out tracks. Favorite track(s): "Violet," "Softer, Softest," "Rock Star"

The album is ok, a couple good songs. 2.5

Excellent.

Grunge’s greatest fuck you. Its reassessment is a fuck you to the haters, but regardless of where the consensus has now landed, the work itself is a fuck you to a lot of things: a misogynistic culture, to her peers and her riot grrrl feminist contemporaries, to herself and her own failings, to her marriage, to the world itself. Courtney has far more to say than any of her peers, and i think she’s the one that got kurt to be more direct in his own lyrics. But it’s complex and informed without being too pretentious — she’s literate in a way that normal people really aren’t anymore. She’s a hugely flawed person and her own ambition led to her outsized celebrity which led to the backlash, but we more easily recognise the artistry of male artists in that predicament, and it clearly exists in spades here.

Very good. One of the best grunge albums, which I feel gets overlooked for various non-music reasons.

Smells like Nirvana, but tastes like a blend imitation. At the same time, fun and cool :)

love when you find an album that's like "oh this is gonna hit when i'm in xyz mood". can't wait to revisit this muchly when i'm angry

Nope

This female singer sounds a bit like Kurt Cobain, wonder if they have ever met.

I now understand why Kurt shot himself in the face

I am not a fan of grunge whatsoever but I will say this kept me intrigued for longer than I thought.

Nice alt-rock/grunge album! Fed energi og hooky rytmesektion. Albummet skriger 90'erne på den gode måde, og kan godt forstå at Courtney Love og Kurt Cobain fandt sammen. Standouts: Violet (more like violent); Asking For It (Nice dynamisk væksling); Softer, Softest (Interessant lyrik, fed. Nok det mest dæmpede nummer på albummet)

Liked this one more than I feared. Thought it was gonna be some dudes but I love femme rage

Very solid

is this a joke? this is the second time I get a hole album...

I mean come on. This is better than Nevermind. The Dawes ear bleeding agony of rock stardom ever

The perfect grunge album, full of angst, catchy and heavy guitar riffs, and scratchy vocals

Esposa del grunge... Not 4 me. Igual me entretuvo.

Lo primero que debo decir es que es un gran álbum de grunge. Tiene todo lo que el género tenía en ese momento. Lo segundo para decir es que tenía todo lo del género en un año cuando ya el género había dado todo eso hace tiempo. Si a eso le sumamos la situación de sonar muchas canciones parecidas a Nirvana, la comparación se vuelve inevitable cuando ya Nirvana hacía 5 años había soltado estos mismos sonidos. Una mierda comparar así, sabiendo todo el trasfondo atrás, pero realmente hay un parecido musical imposible de evitar notar. Aún así, porque banco al género y porque me gustó en lineas generales el album, 7/10

Tja

One of those albums I never owned but still manage to know fairly well. While there's all kinds of context people might want to put around it, in the end it's still an extremely good album.

Crafty melodies, rock noise, and intense writing: smart white-hot anger and desire. It's a pretty good record.

One of my best loved of the 90s. There was so much hatred toward—and even worse, dismissal—of Courtney Love. But this album is fantastic, and each and every track shines. The grooves are undeniable and the anger, love, desperation, and determination are real. It sounds just as good as when it was first released.

Meilleur que Pearl Jam

Les adultes étaient très en colère quand on était ados. 3.75 étoiles

I guess its not as bad as I had anticipated. Doll parts is a pretty cool track.

2.2/5 Nothing too amazing here but nothing terrible.

What the ... ? Biggest surprise of the list. 5

Not bad!

I wasn’t so into Hole at the time this came out but was way into Celebrity Skin and went back to this. One of the greatest rock albums of the 90s and this band does not get the respect they deserve although they’re here so maybe they do.

Can't think of much to say about this album. Perfectly fine grunge.

Even during Courtney Love's pre-celebrity days, Hole never did much for me. By the time Live Through This came out, I was actively avoiding everything in this world because it felt so overexposed and performative. (That said, I thought "Violet" was catchy.) All these years later, I can say I didn't miss much, but I liked this more than I expected—particularly the first half. By "Softer, Softest" it gets repetitious, but the run from "Violet" through "Doll Parts" is solid, and I appreciated the commentary in "Rock Star." I'd still never want to hang out with Courtney Love, though. 3.5 stars.

It's hard to think of any artist who was as unfairly maligned by the public as Courtney Love: Hole puts out this incredible punk-rock album, and immediately, the narrative is that Kurt Cobain ghostwrote it. As if no woman could write something like this. And, as she grieves her husband's death by suicide, the rumor spreads that she killed him. The shitty reality is that this was an album dealing with women's issues, and predictably, it was greeted with misogyny. "Live Through This" is an amazing record. High energy, memorable hooks, well produced. One of the best to come out of the grunge era, and sadly overshadowed by the tragedies surrounding Love’s life.

Veeerrryy fun!!! Loved it

Sylvia Plath meets Helen Keller

I wasn't a fan at first but then it started to grow on me about halfway through. Fav song on it is probably 'I think that I would die' or 'rock star'. Hole, or at least the vibe I'm getting from this album specifically, is giving a rockier version of No Doubt and I'm here for it.

I didn't expect a hole album to be on here, and to be honest this just feels like nirvana with a frontwoman. There are much better albums I could have listened to from that era, such as jagged little pill by alanis morrisette and version 2.0 by garbage. Its not a bad album but it isnt very memorable either

Fine

Proper grunge - really liked it

I actually really liked the punk rock sound here but the voice is an absolute killer for me. I respect it, I like the sound in theory, but I don’t like how it ultimately sounds.

Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover. Whether that's true or not is worth a philosophical digression. Who decides on the cover, anyway? Well, when I saw the album cover, I expected something terrible. Some girl with a thin voice and insipid pop. But no, the album has some punch to it. I think I’ll give it another listen and check out Hole’s other albums as well. 4/5

Pretty good!

3 or 4 absolute bangers of the grunge era. I see a lot of hate directed to her as if she was some sort of 90's Yoko but this album is fucking fantastic. Not quite 5 stars but there aren't a lot of 5 star grunge albums around for me.

Was ok, nothing amazing. May not listen to it again.

Wears out it's welcome fast.

Büro, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Sehr feine Scheibe.

Great grunge pop, probably wouldn't put it on this list though.

Like many others here, I also feel like I didn't give Hole a fair shake. In my case, though, I definitely feel like it was more the fact that I just wasn't into grunge at the time. I still don't think I am, but this was an incredibly strong album.

Raw and angry. It’s good, but I can hear a bit of immaturity in the album that gets polished (in a good way) in their later work. Love has such a good voice, but her yelling masks it. This feels like alive is trying to act a part instead of being herself. I do like the record though. Just not as much as other Hole work.

I understand that Kurt Cobain didn’t ghost write this one, but I hear a lot of grungy influence throughout.

Doll Parts //

Really solid 90s grunge/rock album. Love the vocals. Doesn't really have a standout song for me, but no duds either.

4.5 Hole are great, and deserve more recognition and respect beyond just the cobain association, a really good album and some great songwriting

Normalt inte min typ av musik men den här skivan växte efterhand. Bra melodier räddar upp, t.ex "Rock star (Olympia)". I övrigt tveksam till att jag kommer lyssna mer på Hole.

Not the best album but it was alright. It was just diffrent from my usual music but I feel like if need to listen to it again. Favorite song was asking for.

4 - starts out ok but fades and very one note.

A lazy copy of Nirvana. Courtney added nothing to the formula and got famous ripping off her husband. Their first album has a lot more personality and energy to it. Way better than this piece of shit. I also just hate Courtney Love as a person. Her and Cobain's kid - Frances - deserved a better mother than this narcassistic drug addict. Just look at what was happening in '03 and '04. Drug related arrests meant she had to give up custody of Frances. And the allegations of her using heroin while pregnant? What a fucked up woman. Anyway, this album was a bore. Only stand out tracks were Plump and She Walks On Me. Everything else felt like Love wasn't fully comitting to trying to imitate what Kurt laid down with Nirvana. 1/5

yup this fucks peak grunge, peak alt rock

The career defining album of the most beloved rock-and-roll wife since Yoko Ono. Honestly, Love's incredibly raw and sometimes vicious performance surprised me. There's a nice mix of polished big-budget alt rock that often veers into gruff, uncompromising hardcore, usually at Love's direction. Though the album's sound palette sounds pretty dated today (you can basically pinpoint the exact year this was released) it's still a standout entry in the very, VERY wide alt rock landscape. Key Tracks: Violet, Plump, Jennifer's Body

They said "Lyle you're a misogynist" "Lyle whens the last time you read a female author" "Lyle this" Well look at that. I gave Hole a 4, that's right. Courtney Love is a fantastic vocalist and great lyricist even if she did kill Kurt. Love the very open and echo-y production. Not gonna pretend I have anything pithy to say about the albums themes of feminine rage. Very good. 3.5-4

Can’t believe I hadn’t listened to this before. Great stuff

Courtney Love is like the best frontwoman ever. So much energy. So unpredictable. I love this album. Kind of the pinnacle of grunge for me. Need to listen to Celebrity Skin still

it's awesome. can't believe i hadn't listened before. i liked when she screamed FUCK YOU!!!!

now THAT'S MORE LIKE IT. women rock. so hard. despite, y'know. the everything. take that as many ways possible. 4.5-5. listen to "i think i would die" or i'll shoot you myself.

It was kind of noisy. Sounded alright, but lot of screaming and I had a headache.

Good grunge album - a little to much screaming into the mic to be great - Surprisingly spoty in quality: hole have some of the best grunge songs and others are just really dull

Courtney Love is SO cool, actually

90s era grunge rock is really something. Favorite track: Doll Parts other picks: violet, miss world, rock star

Solid PNW grunge. Great if you're into that sort of thing.

Under produced but decent raw material

I think this album is very good. It was ultimately released at a time of a lot male energy but stands out as a very strong female led band and album at that time. Low 4s.

I get why someone would assume Kurt Cobain ghostwrote this. It feels raw, harsh but also vulnerable and authentic. A cool album, but I could not remember any of the songs the next day sadly.

Excellent grunge album. Has a couple of hits that still hold up.

Not bad, very straight down the middle grunge, however I don't love Courtney Love's voice all the time on this

2:5

dude no, i really wanted to like this but its really annoying

This album isn't a mind blower but it's a bit punkier then the rest of the stuff coming outta the grunge scene. The vocals are fantastic, so raw, aggressive and passionate. Production is crunchy which would have made it steller live

Great grunge album. A must for the list and fun to return to.

3,8 Highlights: Asking For It, Doll Parts

I was so excited to get a female fronted band I think I over indexed this one a bit. Doesn’t really stand up to the rest of the albums I’ve rated 5 but still a bowl you over piece of music. Maybe I’ll bump it up again in a few months who knows

Litt for datert, for lite nytt, for likt

Punk/post-punk with a bit of grunge. Strong vocals, control even during distortion. Can you call it feminist? Definitely a statement on the treatment of women in society. Definitely aggressive, powerful, self-assured. I respect it and can see how people would love it, but it doesn't resonate with me. Best track - Plump, Jennifer's Body, Gutless 3 stars

i think the last track really was what made me "get" this record. it's quite good and pretty consistent throughout, i think i would probably listen to this again

Hard to separate the person from the art, but although she’s completely insufferable and I’m really not sure what she’s contributed musically over the past three decades- this album still rips. I’m not leveling the accusation or contending that it was written but someone else but it certainly does bear the influence of her partner at the time with some Bleach era riffage and lyrical content similar to that that consumes Kurt. That said, she completely sells it on this album. I like it.

Really harsh sound. Not my favorite. But interesting exploration of women's rock in the 90s that covers some serious issues.

On the harder side of pop rock (punk ig). Interesting message and lyrics but not particularly pleasant.

not the worst, felt lots of nirvana-ish vibes here but it wasn't bad. felt a lot like feminine rage, which I'm very fond of, though it didn't really match my tastes.

Never listened. Expectations: Mid - Verdict: Good - Violet is an angry opener, but I like Miss World more. The first few tracks are good but there isn't much variation. They all sound a bit too similar for me. I like Jennifer's Body and Doll Parts is very good, I love the vocals as they get angrier. Rock Star is a good closer. I could maybe see this becoming more enjoyable with more listens but I'd say it's a good album.

Never given the band a chance because, well, you know. Should have done.

its very neat, you dont usually expect women to sing this kinda genre but im all for the ladies doin whatever they like, you go girlies. sometimes the songs are too rough tho

As good as almost any of us contemporary grunge albums at the time. An album I flirted with but never dived into due to a bit of indifference with the genre. But I'm enjoying this. Raw, visceral and legit.

🔥

I’d like to shove this album in my …

in terms of musical context, it's quite a shock to be me (i don't know who the fuck Hole is) and learn that Courtney Love fronts this band, and especially that there was some hot goss about whether or not Kurt Cobain had anything to do with this album. feels very much like... not my circus, idk. this was a cool listen. I'm actually glad to be somewhat divorced from the history of this album because it allowed me to listen to it for its own merits and on its own terms, which made it actually really enjoyable. when it went hard, I wanted it to go harder. when it softened, i still wanted it to go harder. still, it was an enjoyable listen, and i don't think i'd skip any of these songs if they came on shuffle. i don't know that i'd go out of my way to choose this record, though. i think "She Walks On Me" is the standout track. I'd seek that one out probably

i've seen only hate for Courtney Love online. i think that's what the cool kids are doing. idk man she's got a cool voice and i thought this album was fun enough. i probably won't listen to it again, but i'm not skipping Hole any time soon.

Big fan of this! My only exposure to Courtney Love has been Kurt Cobain-related slander, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It evoked an Ann Wilson sound, but if she was way more angsty. I’m exactly sure why, but something about it won’t let me rate it a 5. It’s easily a 4.5 though.

This is an album that I've been meaning to listen to ever since Olivia Rodrigo started venturing into a heavier sound and Courtney Love said that she was biting Hole's sound/aesthetic (is she wrong?). I was not disappointed! The first three songs I felt were especially strong. I'll be returning to this one a lot.

Dude I just listened to this for the first time last week and texted my brother the following: “Just listened to Hole for the first time and it turns out I love Courtney Love, who expected that one” For real gang I think Courtney Love might actually be the single most underrated songwriter of all time relative to her standing and reputation in pop culture. The reasons are obvious but unfortunate but like… shit nobody told me this.

Some key representation that acoustic guitars and pop diva antics aren’t the only avenues for female artists; you can also be loud, abrasive, and wild. I didn’t love the album, but it def opened doors for women in punk and heavy music and I liked a few of the songs

Some albums are unpleasant to listen to because they hold a mirror up to society and expose the ugly truths underneath it. This is one of those albums. If the songs weren't so dam catchy and full of killer hooks this could have been a dour record, but Courtney Love takes all of the sexism and wrongs done against her and turns them into songs that you want to belt at the top of your lungs.

One of the best grunge albums of the 90s. Hole were criminally under-rated mostly due to the hate Courtney got.

I listen without all the gossip surronding its release. Very interesting album. Courtney Love made a great singing.

90s rock. No problems. Her being cobains lady definitely plays through, their styles merged it seems. Kinda hard and more loud punk style.

Fuck yeah! I was already prety familiar with this one, right up my alley. Wouldnt be surprised if Violet is my most listened to song of the year. Edit-Just want to point out after reading some reviews, I am absolutly loving the sheer amount of love this seems to be getting from people.

A good grunge album

I liked it more than I thought I would. Good songs to start, then the quality drops.

Easily like top 3 grunge albums

Enjoyed

Jesus, you go girl. I guess she put all of her anger into this album. It's like equal parts 90s Alt-Rock and 70s Punk Rock, both put through one of the absolute worst things that could happen mid-performance, short of that one time Metallica's lead singer burst into flames. "Uncomfortably real" is the best way to describe this album. She talks about everything from domestic abuse to getting assaulted after stage diving into a particularly horrible audience. Kurt Cobain could never.

not really for me, cool lyrics tho

Grunge

Excelente

The first half of the album didn’t really feel right in my ears. The instruments and vocals felt too separate to me. I thought Asking For It and Jennifer’s Body (didn’t know where the film’s name came from either) were phenomenal, but the rest of the album wasn’t as great for me. I’m more of a Britpop person than a grunge person anyway. I can totally get why people would love this album though, especially if you had been an angsty teenage girl with this, which I am not.

I had never given this one much thought, but man, this is really good. You can see how she has influenced a generation of female led bands in a very heavy way. Great listen.

Not for me

Loved the grungy mess

Decent, but kinda a bummer given everything else going on at the time. Would pick it up on vinyl if I found a used copy digging in the crates but it's from the "you'll never find a used copy of this in the crates" era. I'm gonna go listen to L7 now, which was much more my shit.

Not sure why, but not really into this. Loved Nirvana, but this is just not working for me. Too much shouting. 2.5

It's obviously pretty damn difficult to discuss and/or praise this album without discussing the context from which it came. Nirvana. Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Grunge as an entire era. And now we have to somehow contend with this existing outside all of that. It's alright. I mean obviously it sounds like Nirvana, but that's not because I'm subscribing to the conspiracy that Cobain ghostwrote all these songs. He didn't, even though I could easily imagine his voice and guitar work in place of Love's. No, it's because that's just straight-up how grunge sounds sometimes. And how grunge sounds is...not reeeaally for me. I like it when she screams! I like harsh vocals. And I like the more straightforward punk songs, especially in the last half. Gutless and Olympia are an awesome one-two punch. Funny enough, even though it almost functions like a Bikini Kill diss track, Olympia reminds me more of Sleater-Kinney than anyone. But I'd rather listen to Sleater-Kinney, unfortunately. It sounds pleasant, but I couldn't fall in love with this one.

Classic album of the grunge era. The first half is five stars for sure, but fades a bit in the second half (other than the final track, which is also fantastic). Great stuff.

I just don’t think I like her voice. I can see the appeal, there’s a kind of raw energy, but it’s not doing great things for me personally

med

This was better than the previous Hole album, and I gave that a 4/5. Not better in a score sense (it'll still be a 4/5), but better in that this was basically a hard punk album that was pretending to be a grunge album. Really good, high voltage vocal work from Courtney Love, and the guitars were tuned down and angry. Really liked this one!

I owe you an apology Courtney Love, I was unfamiliar with your game.

This was even better than I remembered it

Really enjoyed this, prefer this album to celebrity skin

Good, compact album. Underrated at the time.

Love this, three stars, altogether now 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 “I went to school…” Tom.

Faves: Plump

Altijd al zalig gevonden

Dit is echt top! Ik kende enkel het eerste nummer van dit album maar wil ze allemaal vaker luisteren Heb uiteindelijk heel de dag geluisterd

Hole was a part of the 90s that I let pass me by. I think I felt that they were in the shadow of Nirvana so I kind of wrote them off. But on this fresh listen I find them to be very much of this era but also somehow quite unique.

As so many others have noted, Courtney Love’s public persona and tumultuous relationship with Kurt Cobain may have overshadowed Hole’s talent, which was very much hidden in Nirvana’s shadow in 1993-1994. The opener to this album, 'Violet', is arguably the best song on the album. Courtney Love's raw, savage energy and vocal performance is inspiring, her shouts of "Go on, take everything" chill-inducing. Fortunately, while 'Violet' is my favourite track on the album, it's far from the only good one. The album oscillates between higher intensity, grunge tracks ('She Walks on Me' being one of the heaviest) to more mellow, introspective tracks like 'Doll Parts'. 5⭐️

I think I would like it better with a different singer

Okey, super punk y con esa voz rasposa y agresiva del rock. Debo decir que quizas no es muy mi estilo, pero aun asi disfrute escuchando She Walks On Me, Plump y alguna que otra más.

I had heard some of these songs but not the whole album. It was better than I thought it would be.

Meh meh meh

Not as good as Celebrity Skin imo. This really just seemed like Courtney screaming into a mic for 40ish minutes.

I've never been able to separate this album from Cobain's death-think this released just a few weeks after his death. musically this was a good listen, but Love's vocals just never appealed to me.

You cannot give less than one star so this album has a star it does not deserve who is doing the list of 1001 albums includes this drekk

A triumph of mainstream alternative rock, crashing and limping through the female experience and the razor's edge existence of 90's culture. Provocative motifs of motherhood, violence, and innocence lost, the songs showcase raw emotion on a spectrum from anger to depression, poking at things in between. Feels like a band that is hitting it's stride and was ready to show the world something; perhaps the world's own twisted preconceptions and the people & things we turn a blind eye to.

didnt catch me

Courtney Love’s voice steals the show, which is saying a lot because the instrumentation is often solid on here as well. “Violet” blew me away as an opening track. I can see why she and Kurt Cobain went so well together in at least one aspect: her voice has that same harmonic chainsaw quality to it. She sings with such a sharpness, but still hits every note right where it’s needed. I loved the first part of “Credit In A Straight World”. It was a needed little switch in composition/approach right at the perfect time. Beautiful track sequencing. “She Walks On Me” - holy shit! The ability to turn on the screaming voice mode and then dice right back into more mellow, melodic singing. I’m impressed. Last shoutout is to the closer “Rock Star”, on the ever-relatable feeling of thinking you’re not the same as any other kids in high school. Maybe this was actually true a bit more for Courtney Love. Either way, I too went to a school in Washington and used my taste in music to leverage the angsty ideology that I wasn’t the same as most kids too. Funny. Though this hit me as a 3/5 on first listen, I know that I’ll go back and in my heart of hearts feel like this is more 4/5

Lived through it.

It’s unfortunate that the whole Kurt and Courtney drama and her other personal issues tend to overshadow Hole but this album is great.

I had this band's other album earlier in the project and thought it was pretty meh, so I expect mediocrity from this as well. It's actually a lot better than I would have thought(and Celebrity Skin was). The album is raw, passionate, and angst-filled in that oh-so-early 90s tradition. The lyrics are rage-filled and deeply personal, and the songs are strong alt-rock numbers with clear hooks. The vocals are as passionate as everything else here, and the album as a whole is very angry. It has everything you could expect from a grunge album in spades, and it isn't too polished. It's very of its era, but it encapsulates the spirit of the era perhaps as well as any other album of the era.

Celebrity Skin is way better, in my opinion. I know this is Hole's breakthrough album, but I'm not sure why this is the one they're known for; that being said, Dollparts is a decent song.

Hole sucks

Shouty stripped back noisy fun

learned a lot, but didnt enjoy it as much hehe. should revisit

hi girl

To my ears, Hole suffers from a similar problem to Alanis Morisette and Cheryl Crow. Sure, the bands are tight and the record’s nicely produced. But they feel like generic Top 40. It’s the same lady in a different dress, so to speak. It’s too MTV and not very innovative.

Wasn't familiar with Hole. Great lyrics, fantastic guy wrenching vocals and some interesting tunes. Not really my style particularly, but enjoyed regardless.

decent overall, actually. Not anything memorable