On
Peaches' last album, the intermittently tired- and inspired-sounding
Fatherfucker, she sounded almost weary of singing about sex -- a pretty dangerous place for her to be, considering that it's her main source of inspiration. Fortunately, though,
Impeach My Bush shakes that not-so-fresh feeling. Even though the album's sound sticks to the glam, punk, and electro foundations of her music, and the lyrics stick to the territory she knows best,
Impeach My Bush is the sassiest and most engaged
Merrill Nisker has sounded since
The Teaches of Peaches. This is also most eclectic-sounding set of songs yet. Co-producers
Mickey Petralia, who also made
Ladytron's
Witching Hour a fascinating (and totally different) sounding album, and
Greg Kurstin, who has also sculpted beats for
Gwen Stefani and
Lily Allen, give
Impeach My Bush a bigger, slicker sound than
Peaches' previous work, but that helps her cover musical territory that ranges from the heavy-breathing glam/disco fusion of "Boys Wanna Be Her" to "Downtown," a breathy, almost coy confection that glides along on synth strings and sounds sexy as well as sexual -- a
Peaches first. Of course, the album also has plenty of room for several different flavors of electro, be it buzzy ("Get It"), sleek ("Tent in Your Pants"), or just plain filthy ("Slippery Dick"). And while
Impeach My Bush doesn't rock as hard as
Fatherfucker, it rocks smarter: "You Love It" plays like a sexed-up, gender-swapped update of "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" and is taken to the next level by
Joan Jett's vocals and guitars, while "Give 'Er" boasts handclaps that could be face-slaps and backing vocals that sound like taunting battle cries. Even though
Impeach My Bush's stylishly hyperactive sound is the most immediately enticing thing about the album,
Peaches' inimitable lyrics make themselves known soon enough, particularly on "Rock the Shocker," where she admonishes a guy to "stop relying on your dick" and on "Two Guys for Every Girl" (which includes backing vocals by
the Gossip's
Beth Ditto), which name-checks Heidi Fleiss. Spilling over with dominatrix anthems in the making,
Impeach My Bush shows that despite the album's not-so-thinly-veiled jab at the Commander in Chief -- and the sequined burkha
Nisker wears on its cover --
Peaches is still a force to be reckoned with in the arena of sexual politics. Even if it's not as traffic-stopping as her debut, this album suggests that she can keep her music interesting for the long haul.