Bridging the punk rock of 1991′s Pretty on the Inside and the (mostly) radio-friendly fare of 1998′s Celebrity Skin, Hole’s second album fully embraces the grunge style, spawning multiple singles.  All of its dozen songs hover close to the three-minute mark, making for a fairly digestible listening experience in spite of the anger, directed inward and outward, which fuels each track.  Allusions, similes, and metaphors are abundant, threaded through with confessions (or facsimiles thereof) and reactive lashings.

The band displays an impressive tightness of interplay and instrumental support, with Courtney Love’s vocals catching the anguished highs and resigned lows in effective form.  Moody bridges and grinding assaults break up the standard grunge formations, with the percussion (which were redone, allegedly without informing drummer Patty Schemel at the time) in particular forming some of the most engaging moments.  Though rumors of various kinds have emerged around the album’s creation in the years following its release, Live Through This remains Hole’s most well-rounded and cohesive album to date, with little of its initial impact lost.