Iggy Pop
Post Pop Depression
Rating: ****
The last nine to ten years of Iggy Pop’s
career have been interesting. In that span of time, he reunited with the
Stooges and made two new studio albums with them- The Weirdness in 2007 and Ready
to Die in 2013. Pop also released two French themed albums- Preliminaries in 2009 and Apres in 2012. With the deaths of the
Asheton brothers (Ron in 2009 and Scott in 2014), Pop seems to have retired
have the Stooges name and is now continuing his solo career. His latest album, Post Pop Depression, is his 17th
studio effort. While labeled as a solo release, Pop collaborated with Queens of
the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme for this album- as Homme plays on and
produces the album. Compared to Pop’s last few solo releases, Post Pop Depression sees the 68-year-old
punk rocker in fine form with an album that can best be described as a modern
day sequel to his work in the mid to late 1970’s.
The
album opens with the ska rocker “Break Into Your Heart.” Pop’s is surprisingly
strong, as he croons to this brass and guitar heavy track. Homme works his
magic with the production, as the guitars sound pleasantly fuzzy. On paper, “Gardenia”
might look like a cover of the song by Kyuss- which Hommes was a member of. It
isn’t. This “Gardenia” song is a psychedelic grungey number that serves as the
album’s lead single. A killer bass line leads the track as Pop sings in his low
baritone voice “All I want to do is tell Gardenia what to do tonight.” Speaking
of which, the bass is very strong on this album- which would be Homme’s doing
in the production side. The bass is especially strong on the dark alternative
rocking “American Valhalla” and downright funky Talking Heads-esque “Sunday.”
While
Post Pop Depression is very much an
Iggy Pop album, Pop doesn’t shy away from experimenting with other genres of
music. The aforementioned “Sunday” is an example. There’s also the Mexican
tinged “Vulture” and the droning “In the Lobby.” The former showcases Pop’s
baritone voice once more while the latter has impressive guitar work. If there
are any downsides to the album, the last third does fall a little on the weak
side. Still, “Chocolate Drops” has strong lyrics while “German Days” sounds
like a lost cut from The Idiot. The
album’s closer, “Paraguay”, is a six minute mini-epic. From its haunting a cappella
beginning to Pop’s old angry man rant at the end, it really is a powerful song.
Overall,
Post Pop Depression is a great album
from Iggy Pop. I’m really impressed by this album. When it comes to his solo
career, Pop’s discography isn’t critically the most consistent. While modern
sounding, this album has the feel of The
Idiot and/or Lust for Life. Earlier
this year, Pop mentioned that Post Pop
Depression might be his last album. Personally, I would love to see Iggy
make another album. However- if this ends up being his last one, then this is
one hell of a way to go out.
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