The sexually adventurous and supremely wild party girl has not gone out of style. Peaches’ new album, I Feel Cream, was released in North America Tuesday. The elektroklash artist and Canadian native continues to thud the heads of rowdy club goers with a string of bass heavy electronica beats. Some may remember her hit in 2000, “Fuck the Pain Away,” which was featured in the “Jackass Number Two” soundtrack. Peaches is infamous for developing elektroklash as a genre along with the likes of Le Tigre and Chicks on Speed and is also recognized for her casual references to often deviant or unconventional sexual practices.
It takes a unique person to competently pull off the lyrical content in I Feel Cream. Peaches’ kinky and lustful wailings prove she is the right woman for the job. Lines like “You took a shot but forgot/ You’re the fly that I swat/ I’m hot,” are announced with a confidence that is hard to argue with. Does this make Peaches an object of female empowerment? Possibly, but this derivation of her persona may be misplaced.
Despite all of the distracting allure surrounding the lyricism of someone who espouses what is ostensibly the lifestyle of people who are mainly glorified, coked-out party girls, Peaches is able to produce some good dance material. Songs like “Talk to Me” and “More” show that simple beats with pop-influenced vocals are just as viable in creating catchy music as harmonies and melodies that are created outside the programming parameters of a drum machine. “Talk to Me” features about three distinct parts (drums, synth bass and vocals) but achieves a full sound through catchy lyrics and relentless rhythm. The almost incessant humming of the beat that is prevalent in any Peaches song is also the spine of the genre. Without sexy lyrics and a sex-like rhythm, Peaches would be nothing but an overly naughty pop singer.
The album is produced primarily by James Ford, who also produced the Arctic Monkeys’ Favourite Worst Nightmare and Test Icicles’ For Screening Purposes Only. While a producer like this might seem fitting for a dance punk band like Test Icicles, this new album marks a step away from Peaches’ earlier works. “Lose You” really highlights this difference. It’s easy to see when comparing to hits like “Fuck the Pain Away” that a bit of evolution has occurred in Peaches’ repertoire. “Lose You” is a step away from the simplified formula and utilizes some in-studio tinkering and production effects to pull off a song that sounds different, but is still emphatically Peaches.
Credit should be given to the former Canadian schoolteacher. Although her sex-saturated serenades to those of high net worth can get tired faster than a day after an ecstasy binge with no cigarettes, the composition isn’t done half-heartedly. Most either love or hate the dance beats Peaches puts out; I Feel Cream won’t do much to convince the haters, but most fans will receive it with celebratory hip thrusts and booty wiggles.
3 stars out of 5.
