PEACHES
“IMPEACH MY BUSH”
[Canadian electro-punk] Peaches is an outright dirty, foul-mouthed
slut. And I love her. As always, her lyrics are naughty as they wanna
be on songs like “Tent in Your Pants” and “Two Guys (For Every Girl),”
and take a slight political bent in “Fuck or Kill,” where she proudly
claims, “I’d rather fuck who I want than kill who I’m told to.” But in
between the toe-tapping catchiness of “Hit It Hard” and the
handclappin’, roadhouse rocker blues of “Give ‘Er,” with raunchy guitar
riffing provided by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Peaches
manages to sound like a Prince ingenue in the nu wave synth-pop of
“Downtown.” And in the rocking “Boys Wanna Be Her,” she channels Joan
Jett, who also happens to back her growl in the bad girl anthem “You
Love It.” You can almost visualize the sexy snarl and the shiny luster
of her leather pants—or in Peaches case, the disturbing spandex sheen
of her camel toe. —2006 XL Recordings, Ltd.
SIA
“COLOUR THE SMALL ONE”
[Intimate, downtempo electronica] The
overall vibe of this album epitomizes the sweet wrath of melancholy.
Even on more upbeat tunes like “Sunday,” Sia (the Australian vocalist
from Zero 7) sings languorously, imploringly, like she’s just finished
a three-day bout of crying and might be ready to accompany you for a
quiet tea in the garden now, as long as you don’t disturb her fragile
state of wallow. But rather than being whiny, draining or obnoxiously
depressing, Sia invites you in, smiles wanly and seductively croons for
you to, “Be my friend/ Hold me, wrap me up/ Unfold me/ Warm me up/ And
breathe me.” —2006 Astralwerks
CORINNE BAILEY RAE
“CORINNE BAILEY RAE”
[Soft, jazzy soul] It might seem strange to include Corinne Bailey
Rae in this mix of “Badass Bitches.” Don’t get me wrong—her light,
scratchy British inflections are still badass, but her silky smooth
soul is less “bitchy,” more akin to the perpetually likeable, mellow
Norah Jones and funky Macy Gray, although in her lush voice I do hear a
bit of Martina Topley Bird—Tricky’s dark and bluesy trip-hop
chanteuse—if she were to go mainstream. Rae is full of airy charm and
earthy sweetness, making me feel like I’m lounging under a tree at the
park on a sunny day, watching children and puppies play, while
butterflies land on my nose. —2006 Capitol Records
NEKO CASE
“FOX CONFESSOR BRINGS THE FLOOD”
[Alt-country noir] There is no one quite like her; to my ears,
Neko Case has the strongest female voice in alt music today. Although
she has an indie rock gig as vocalist for the New Pornographers, her
solo music has a timeless, haunting beauty like that of Patsy Cline,
but with a grittier edge and an eccentric narrative style of
songwriting. This latest release may be a bit folksier and less dark
than previous recordings, but that captivating voice on
quintessentially Neko songs like “Star Witness” and “Hold On Hold
On”—along with the Edward-Gorey-esque artwork on the cover—make this
album yet another winner for me. Plus, I’m a sucker for steel guitar
and echo-y reverb effects. —2006 Anti, Inc.
ANNA OXYGEN
“THIS IS AN EXERCISE”
[Dancy, operatic, electro-pop] Oh man, this chick makes some weird
music. It reminds me of the “New Romantic” ‘80s era of heavily
synthesized, poppy goth-rock dance music, like Clan of Xymox and Soft
Cell—but with a sense of humor. It’s the kind of stuff I’d expect would
seep out of some dank underground club in Chicago or something, but
Anna Oxygen actually comes from Olympia, a small town in Washington.
She even holds these cool classes there called “Loop Girls” so that
girls ages 10 to 15 can learn how to work a drum machine and make
three-chord pop songs. Damn, I wish I still had my Casio keyboard…
—2006 Kill Rock Stars