Peaches is still thirsty after all these years.
Merrill Nisker is now in her third decade as Peaches, a singer whose garish visual aesthetic and ribald lyrical explorations remain intact on her first album in 11 years, “No Lube, So Rude.” As that title might suggest, Peaches still isn’t shy about exploring her sexual proclivities. Opening track “Hanging Titties” is patented Peaches, an electro-clash slap to the face delivered via a cavalcade of carnal desires and gender-bending glee.
“No Lube, So Rude” doesn’t hesitate to reference its creator’s age — for the uninitiated, 59-year-old Nisker first unveiled her fearless alter ego back when Bill Clinton still called the White House home. Check this from the slinky “Panna Cotta Delight,” which opens with a chintzy 1980s video-game keyboard lick: “I don’t need insurance, I’ve got the pension/Yes, I’m old, solid gold/A woman in control…”
Peaches’ mashup of influences — which she once described thusly: “I loved Iggy Pop, I loved Riot Grrrl, I loved Missy Elliot and I loved Lil’ Kim lyrics” — populate a discography designed to thrill and offend. “No Lube, So Rude” is no exception.
“For me, and for what I do, I’m always an advocate for queer and trans rights, human rights and bodily autonomy, and those are especially under attack in America right now,” Peaches said in a recent interview with OnMilwaukee. “Even though I already had a lot of material dealing with these themes, it felt like the right time to give another big push, show my support and get out there connecting with the community. I’m letting people know it’s okay to be who we are, to feel how we feel and that we’re absolutely in the right to be who we need to be.”
While the new material revels in its fleshy desires and pointed cultural critiques, album closer “Be Love” reveals Peaches’ need for deeper connection, culminating with unexpected strings and a fading beat as she yearns, “What to do, not the truth/Find the real inside you/I wanna be love.”
As expected, a Peaches live show is an interactive spectacle, complete with elaborate costumes, backing dancers and enough sexual bravado to make Prince blush. It’s a celebration of life personified by the following sentiments in “Flip This,” which is a live staple on the current tour: “We are the noise, filter through/Seek and destroy, fill it new/We are the voice, coming through/We can’t avoid, bring the truth.”
Peaches is playing at Bogarts on September 19. Click here for tickets.