Peaches: I Feel Cream

During the first half of the decade, Peaches was one of the vanguards of the then-raging electroclash scene, an MC/character given to foul-mouthed sexual frankness set atop minimal beats. Electroclash has since run its course, and the success of obvious Peaches progeny Lady Gaga has helped mainstream the performance-art antics that may have once alienated audiences. Peaches’ new I Feel Cream reflects that shift, dialing back on the depravity (relatively speaking) in favor of slickly produced, dance-focused jams whose accessibility comes at the expense of ingenuity. Album opener “Serpentine” sounds like a holdover from Peaches’ 2003 album Fatherfucker, but I Feel Cream makes its direction known with the standout second track “Talk To Me,” which does away with filthy rhymes in favor of howling vocals and a synth bassline that makes plain the involvement of producers Soulwax. Peaches is still far from family-friendly, especially when she teams up with Shunda K of Yo Majesty on “Billionaire,” and claims she “never goes to bed without a piece of raw meat” on “Trick Or Treat.” But overall, I Feel Cream feels subdued and safe, a less-than-inspiring move for an artist who made her name by being neither.