Iggy Pop Rocks Out On His Latest Album, Post Pop Depression
If you like emotional, raw, wild, and violent music, then Iggy Pop’s new record, Post Pop Depression, is right for you. Released on March 18, Post Pop Depression is the 17th album by Pop, and the nine tracks are filled with eerie content and a harmonious, sweet acidic sound. The songs feel explosive and carnivorous, standing out from songs on his previous projects, Lust For Life or The Idiot. The lyrics are vile, powerful, and bold, distinguishing this album from anything being played right now.
Beginning with the song Gardenia, the lyrics convey strong messages of sexuality. The rat pack-psychedelic sounding Pop sings about heartache and romance. The verse that goes “Gardenia, where are you? / Black goddess in a shelter raincoat / Where are you tonight?” sounds similar to the classic pop track Candy. The chorus mimics the emotion from a blues song, expressing a sense of longing and loneliness in its message.
The echo-drowned, synth punk track American Valhalla gives a nod to Bowie’s Blackstar, and a message of despair over a failed career. “Where Is American Valhalla / Is there anybody in there? / And can I bring a friend? / I’m not the man with everything / I’m nothing but my name.” The tempo slows and the dreadful noisiness gives American Valhalla a dramatic and melancholy feeling.
The very crunchy, distortion-heavy German Days is an anthem rock-ragtime. The lyrics, “There’s a man who knows what you want / There’s a girl who’ll capture your flag / Glistening champagne on ice / Garrulous show of voice” tells a ghost story, and reverberate with a Bavarian Folk/German Marching band sound.
The Hawaiian barroom-blue eyed soul sound of the last track, Paraguay, devolves into an angry mess. Pop rebukes the information era for its negativity. “You take your laptop / And shove it down your gizzard,” he shouts over a 70’s-folk sounding soccer chant sung by members of Queens Of The Stone Age. The mic’s tone gets listener’s adrenaline pumping. The sound is like hardcore punk meets ukulele-jazz.
Pop’s act, Iggy And The Stooges, got famous in the 1960’s for making psychedelic-heavy metal. They are said to have been the earliest punk rock band. Post Pop Depression is written by multiple musicians including two members of Queens Of The Stone Age, Josh Homme and Dean Fertita. The drummer is Matt Helders, who also plays in the Britpop group, The Arctic Monkeys.
Iggy Pop hit the road this spring for a 20-date tour of North America and Europe in support of the Post Pop Depression album. The tour stops at The Fillmore Miami Beach with the Jacuzzi Boys on April 19 at 9 p.m.
