Iggy Pop
Post Pop Depression
Rekords Rekords/Loma Vista/Caroline International
Rightly credited as one of punk’s founding fathers, the force of nature known as Iggy Pop is also a superior crooner, capable of channeling Frank Sinatra or Jim Morrison with un-ironic verve. That gift is on full display in Post Pop Depression, a collaboration with Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme that proves to be a perfect fit. Iggy’s knack for brooding balladry meshes surprisingly well with the Queens’ style of epic melodies on such gems as the ominous “Break Into Your Heart,” a love song doused in menace, and the jumpy “Gardenia,” which echoes his classic late-’70s albums with David Bowie. As usual, Iggy muses on the meaning of life and his looming mortality muttering, “Death is a pill that’s hard to swallow,” in “American Valhalla,” a blunt reflection given extra poignancy by his friend’s recent passing. Now in his late 60s, Iggy periodically insists that he’s going to quit rock’n’roll, but if Post Pop Depression proves to be his parting shot, he’s leaving on a high note.
