Peaches is back today with "Pussy Mask" — her new single and follow-up to 2020's "Flip This," which saw the electro-punk provocateur declare, "Fuck the system/ Make it crumble," alongside a very Bop It-style hook: "Grip this/ Flip this/ Whip this/ Strip this." Now one full year into the pandemic, she's reflecting on the state of the world and addressing it the only way she knows how: head-on, but with a touch of comedy.
"My pussy wear a mask," Peaches says on the guitar-drenched track, offering what she describes as an "absurd take on mask wearing," because, "of course, a pussy will never have to wear a mask." This approach is intentional: "My music has always married the absurd with serious topics like social inequality or championing gender equality and age equality," she says. "I hope the humor can shine some light into this dark, confusing and frustrating reality, so we can let off some stress."
Indeed, the official "Pussy Mask" video is the perfect release, with hilarious animation that shows a cartoon vagina hopping around in a medical mask, taking on the Senate and hanging out as Peaches' necklace pendant. Elsewhere in the colorful Leah Shore-directed clip, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wildly strums an air guitar, Dr. Anthony Fauci rips off his uniform and raises a devil fist, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg gets memorialized by two cherubs.
For the musician, this was her very Peaches way of "showing respect" for these political figures and the importance of mask-wearing, while also addressing her "distaste for 'Karens,' gerrymandering, and all of those who work to tear down women's health and reproductive rights." The visual ultimately climaxes with a raging dance party between Peaches, Fauci, RBG and AOC, whom she admires for her "tenacity" and "willingness to stand up and fight against archaic, patriarchal systems."
"Public health is essential, and needs to be of interest to everyone right now and forever," Peaches says of her decision to focus on this specific topic. "We are all interconnected. There is no other option if we want to survive. My art involves contact. I am a live performer. If I want to have contact with my audience again I need to understand what is involved to safely do that and so does the general public."
Throughout the past six months, Peaches has made it her mission to use music as a vehicle for tackling systemic oppression. Beyond "Flip This," she also celebrated the 48th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade with fellow artists like Cyndi Lauper and Linda Perry on Amanda Shires' "Our Problem." The abortion-rights anthem aimed to shed light on a conversation too often ignored, singing "I'm on your side" together in harmony.
Looking to the future, though, Peaches says she's optimistic because she simply has to be. "I also have to learn to be patient, which I am not very good at," she admits, before encouraging her fans to "stop, take a pause and know yourself. What are your triggers in any situation? How can you manage yourself, your self-care, feel good and stay positive? Baby steps."
Stream "Pussy Mask" by Peaches, below.
Photo courtesy of Peaches