Merrill Nisker is just like any other 40-year-old woman. She likes expressing herself through the medium of music, and um, dancing on stage with giant inflatable penises. She took her stage name from the sweetest of fruits, and then named one of her albums, erm, 'Fatherfucker'. OK, Merrill Nisker is nothing like any other 40-year-old woman. The Canadian electroclash star has become synonymous with a stage show that would cause a nunnery to implode through the power of sheer indignation alone.
What most people forget is that beneath the sleaze and shock tactics are usually some genuinely quality songs. Her fifth album has the big production names attached, if nothing else: James Ford, Soulwax and Digitalism all lend a hand, and to that effect, it's not hard to imagine what 'I Feel Cream' sounds like. Minimal, uncomplicated beats are mashed together with Peaches's trademark half-rapped/half-sung vocals, aurally curling an index finger to seductively beckon the listener in.
The best tracks here are the ones that veer away from the tinny, grimy electro tunes, though. 'I Feel Cream' is almost trance-like, with waves of Ibiza club-style synths carrying a conflictingly soft melody; 'Mud''s deep, staid beat and weird off-kilter chord change will cause subtle unease in your eardrums, and 'Lose You' takes a more gentle approach to club disco, pulsating like a disco ball at a drag queen convention.
Apart from the producers and long-term songwriting partner Gonzales, the only guest star here is Shunda K of female hip-hop duo Yo! Majesty, whose contribution to the flat 'Billionaire' is disappointingly lacklustre. Still, Peaches herself says it best on opening track 'Serpentine', with the proclamation: "Some call me trash, some call me nasty / Some call me crass, but you can't match me". It's not a great album, but you can't really disagree with that statement.
