by LORRAINE CARPENTER

“Sex is the number-one political weapon,” says Peaches. “It’s the thing that makes you human and contributes to your wild side, or your downfall.”

George W. Bush may never have the downfall he deserves, but you can’t blame Peaches for dreaming. And with a stunning new album that’s simultaneously more rock, more hip hop and more radio-ready—despite lyrics like, “I’d rather fuck who I want than kill who I am told to,” and “Slapping those dicks all over the place, rubbing that shit all up in your face”—Peaches will probably reach a wider audience than ever. Impeach My Bush, recorded in L.A. with producers Mickey Petralia and Greg Kurstin, features guests Joan Jett, the Gossip’s Beth Ditto and Eagles of Death Metal’s Josh Homme and Samantha Maloney. Just ahead of the Toronto-born Berliner’s return to Montreal with her new backup band (Maloney, le Tigre’s JD Samson and the Need’s Radio Sloan), the Mirror reached the Peach at her temporary L.A. home.

Mirror: I heard you went to a ridiculous Hollywood party recently.

Peaches: There’s nothing like it! It was for Dom Perignon, with Karl Lagerfeld. It was at some billionaire’s house, and they paid people to show up, so there’s Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Mickey Rourke, Courtney Love, and everybody’s drinking as much champagne as they want. Crazy.

M: There must be a stark contrast between L.A. and Berlin.

P: In Berlin, there is a freedom that you can’t have here in America. There’s not many restrictions or out-and-out crime or fear. But my L.A. and my Berlin are my own little bubbles. I know all the good freaks here, so that’s the real party for me.

M: So I hear that “Tent in Your Pants” is a response to the Neptunes/Busta Rhymes track “Light Your Ass on Fire.” Is it more criticism or tribute?

P: Don’t get me wrong, I love hip hop, I love rock music. I’ve always sung along with lyrics that I’m like, “Why am I singing along with a song that says this?” I don’t wanna tell somebody, “Your ass is so big, put a club in your ass.” That makes me wanna say, “The tent’s so big in your pants, gonna bring my friends for a dance.” And I don’t think it’s mean or ill-humoured, I just wanna balance things out. Why can’t we say, “Two guys for every girl”? When Jan and Dean said [“Two girls for every boy”], it was a beach party. And I want guys to feel comfortable singing along. I love when guys come up to me and say, “You know that song of yours, it’s so cool: ‘Suckin’ on my titties like you wanted me…’” I’m like, it’s so great that some straight guy just told me to suck on his titties. That’s good.

M: It seems like this album has mainstream potential. How do you feel about your chances?

P: I would love to infiltrate the mainstream, and who knows? There’s no excuse. People said I couldn’t be on TV ’cause I didn’t have a band. So now I have a band, now my production’s great and my lyrics are just like everybody else’s, but better—I worked a little harder. So let’s see what happens. Are we ready for it?

With Eagles of Death Metal and the World Provider at Metropolis on Wednesday, July 19, 9 p.m., $27.50

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