Editor's Note: Yes, we know, this record first came out two years ago. However, we didn't receive a copy of it back then, so we figured we'd take the opportunity to give it the attention it deserves now that XL has reissued it.
From the first sentence of the newly reissued The Teaches of Peaches -- which, incidentally, begins with the words "Suckin' on my titties" -- you know it's gonna be a nasty ride.
No, wait -- scratch that. The cameltoe shot on the CD cover does more than enough to clue you in to Peaches' raunchiness, and "Fuck the Pain Away", the album's opener, merely confirms the impression. The Teaches of Peaches is as tacky and low-budget as a '70s porno flick...and just as much fun. The music -- "made, mixed and mutilated" by Peaches herself, naturally -- is the product of a Roland MC-505 and a shitload of attitude, the arrangements minimal but tantalizingly layered with lo-fi beats, juicy grooves and gleeful sound effects. "AA XXX" features a roller-rink electro bassline and some of Roland's best spaceship sounds, paired with lyrics like "Some people think I keep my self-respect hidden in my cervix" and "Lickee lickee suckee / Nobody here can tell me they don't wanna fuckee fuckee". Peaches' style varies widely, from sultry, rambling rap to yelling to actual singing, but every song has a spontaneous feel, as if she wrote a few core lines and improvised the rest. "Set it Off" has exactly three lyrics (and not many more parts to the music), but it doesn't seem overly repetitive. Innovative sequencing throughout Teaches is responsible for a lot of its freshness, even two years down the line; Peaches introduces beats and throws accents in just the places you wouldn't expect them to turn up -- sometimes completely derailing the song's rhythm, only to put it back on a slightly different track.
There are the aforementioned sensual electro jams, and then you have your rock-n-roll songs. "Sucker" and "Rock Show" have practically identical pounding beats, sampled guitar and Runaways-reminiscent yell-singing. These tracks rock about as much as is possible with a Groovebox, but they don't quite measure up to the others in energy or originality; however, you get the impression that this is due more to equipment limitations than any lack of spirit. The record also comes with a bonus disc, containing an obscure cover song, videos and what sound like B-sides, as well as a fucked-up, funked-up remix of "Fuck the Pain Away" by Kid 606.
Peaches' image, complete with constant tight pink garb and website crotch-shots, is undeniably shticky -- but her brazen celebration of all things sensual and her lo-fi electro-punk sound are refreshing in a business where "sexy" women often seem to be defined by their sexuality rather than simply possessing it.
