Not to date myself here, but I’ve been around long enough to remember the pre-Shazam days when “Fuck the Pain Away” was the new club jam that had people asking, “Who is this?” That said, in my timeline, a new Peaches album is cause for much celebration. No Lube So Rude, the first album from Peaches in over a decade, is out today. But, that’s not all. We also have new albums from Apparat, Mirah and Night Ritualz available now. Keep reading for my reviews.
Apparat
A Hum of Maybe
Emerging from a song-a-day challenge devised to overcome a case of writer’s block, A Hum of Maybe is Apparat’s first full-length album since 2019 and it’s an inspired journey through an eclectic mix of sounds. Opening cut “Glimmerine” builds up into a breakbeat throwback before it erupts into a psych-jazz freak out. There are a lot of interesting juxtapositions on the album, as Apparat melds elements of pop and experimental music styles. On the title track, a laidback pop song grows into something that’s both intensely funky and noisy by its end. In “Lunes,” a piano ballad is twisted into a glitchy jam. There is nothing predictable about A Hum of Maybe. Songs rarely end as they start and often take an unexpected turn or two somewhere in the middle. That’s what makes it such an exciting album. My personal favorite, though, is “Tilth” where Mute-mate Káryyn joins in for an eerie, ethereal duet.
Mirah
Dedication
Emanating from a period of life that included the death of her father, birth of her son and the COVID-19 pandemic, Mirah’s first full-length album in close to eight years, Dedication, is an introspective collection that runs the stylistic gamut from country to baroque pop. Standouts include “The Ballad of the Bride of Frankenstein,” which channels the drama of a Kate Bush deep cut, and the jazzy piano lullaby “Hummingbird.”
Night Ritualz
Time Is a Thief
Less than a year after the release of his debut album, Vincent Guerrero IV is back with his second Night Ritualz album, Time Is a Thief. Guerrero takes a melancholy tone throughout much of his sophomore effort that allows his lyrics, written in both English and Spanish, to shine. “Brown Skin,” previously released as a single, is the album’s standout song, a poetic and poignant reflection on identity in the midst of ICE raids, racial-profiling and mass incarceration. Guerrero does build up to a club rhythm as the album nears its conclusion, when industrial and techno collide in “Whoreish” and “Cupid Is a Cuck” before he leaves listeners with synthwave slow jam “My Baby, My Love.”
Get Time Is a Thief by Night Ritualz
Peaches
No Lube So Rude
More than a decade has passed since Peaches’ last album and, tbh, I can’t think of a better time for her to make a comeback. To recap the last quarter-century (and change), Peaches released her landmark debut album The Teaches of Peaches in the summer of 2000 and, by the time she really took off, we were already living in the ’00s conservative hellscape. So, The Teaches of Peaches became a rebellious soundtrack to regressive times and subsequent albums like Fatherfucker and Impeach My Bush, Peaches pushed that message more intentionally. It’s not surprising then that Peaches is back with a vengeance when we’re once again thrust back into even more regressive times.
There’s no foreplay for on No Lube So Rude. For her latest album, Peaches cuts to the action, opening with the anti-agist “Hanging Titties” and keeps the sex-positive, pro-LGBTQ+ bangers going for the bulk of the half-hour album. Musically, Peaches pulls together hyperpop, synthpunk, darkwave and more, all of which makes sense given how far-reaching her influence is across club-friendly genres. Overall, it’s a solid album that mixes the fiercely political (“Not in Your Mouth None of Your Business”), the personal (“Be Love”) and the inspirational (“You’re Alright”).
Get No Lube So Rude by Peaches
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
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