singles by choice
(albums when it's necessary)
2 August 2021
listening with headphonesAvid Acutus
Funk F·XRII
Benz Micro LP-S
Linn Klimax DS (Renew)
TEAD Mastergroove Mk 2
TEAD Vibe Phoenix / Pulse 2
Luxman P-1u
Sennheiser HD800

The sticker on the front says “THE subversive new single from defiant and legendary feminist icon Peaches.”

Admittedly, I’m a man, and I’m pretty old and out of touch, but I’m struggling to find anything either subversive or feminist about what Peaches is saying here. Also, I don’t like “pussy”. We have better words than that, don’t we? It sounds cringily infantile to my ear, and better suited for children to apply to cats. I do, however like that she references “luncheon meat”. You don’t hear that enough, in any context.

The music’s pretty good though: the cheap (in a good way) and nasty (also in a good way) electronics that you always get with Peaches. It really made me want to listen to The Teaches of Peaches, even though I only played it a couple of days ago.

The anthropomorphised vulvas on the sleeve remind me of the Go gopher, which I hate with every fibre of my being. Again, infantile. On Third Man, which is possibly why it sounds terrific.

3

I wasn’t sure about this at first. It didn’t grab me. But all the way through, it gradually, without me realising, spun a web around me. Your obvious touchpoint would be Saloon: a languid cool and detached emotion.

But I don’t want to damn with “sound-like”s: this is a record of subtle strength and feeling. As always with Box Bedroom Rebels, the artwork is rich and lovely, and there’s a ton of stuff inside.

4