Post Pop Depression [LP]

by Iggy Pop

Overview

Fate has a way of putting things into an interesting context. When it was announced that Iggy Pop would be collaborating with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, the music press buzzed with anticipation about the project. What would the proto-punk icon and the snarky hard rock smart guy come up with? The surprise answer is, in many respects, 2016's Post Pop Depression, an unwitting but loving tribute to Pop's friend and collaborator David Bowie. Post Pop Depression arrived two months after Bowie's death, and was completed before his health problems became common knowledge. More than anything, though, this music evokes the sound and feel of Pop's first two solo albums. 1977's The Idiot and Lust for Life were cut with Bowie in Germany as Pop struggled to make sense of his life and career after the Stooges collapsed. With the reunited Stooges gone following the deaths of Ron and Scott Asheton, Post Pop Depression finds Pop returning to the work he made in 1977, in ways that count the most. Post Pop Depression is smart and thoughtful, intelligent without being pretentious, and full of bold but introspective thinking. While Josh Homme is certainly no David Bowie, he's a skilled musician who challenges Pop in a way many of his previous producers have not. The sound of Post Pop Depression occasionally gestures to Bowie's work, with and without Pop, but Homme has given this music a personality of its own. Dark and richly textured, Post Pop Depression puts Pop's craggy but authoritative voice and intelligent tirades front and center. Homme and his rhythm section of Dean Fertita and Matt Helders have created strong, muscular backdrops for Pop's lyrics that add to their power. They counter his thoughtful anger with sounds that are rich, cleanly designed, and a successful compliment for the star's work. Pop has suggested that Post Pop Depression may be his last album, and if that's true, it wraps up his career with a strong and atypical work. It tips its hat to Bowie, but also to the freedom and creative possibilities Pop discovered in their collaborative work. It confirms that Pop has never lost the ability to surprise and upend expectations. In the bitter rant that closes "Paraguay," Pop declares he wants to run away and live as "your basic clod." It's an ironic thought, closing an album that once again proves Pop never was and never will be an ordinary guy. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	03/18/2016
Label:	Concord / Concord Loma Vista / Loma Vista / Universal / Universal Music
UPC:	0888072390881

Tracks

1. Break Into Your Heart
2. Gardenia
3. American Valhalla
4. In the Lobby
5. Sunday
6. Vulture
7. German Days
8. Chocolate Drops
9. Paraguay

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Iggy Pop   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Daphne Chen   Violin
Eric Gorfain   Violin
Lynne Fiddmont   Vocals (Background)
David Moyer   Flute,Piccolo,Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor),Sax (Baritone)
Sharlotte Gibson   Vocals (Background)
Danny T. Levin   Cornet,Trumpet,Trombone,Flugelhorn,French Horn,Horn (Alto)
Jordan Katz   Trumpet,Trombone,Mellotron
Matt Helders   Toms,Drums,Shaker,Vocals,Percussion,Drums (Snare),Vocals (Background)
Lauren Chipman   Viola
Blake Cooper   Tuba,Cimbasso,Sousaphone
Dean Fertita   Bass,Piano,Guitar,Clarinet,Key Bass,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Electric)
Joshua Homme   Bass,Piano,Chimes,Guitar,Vocals,Machines,Percussion,Vibraphone,Synthesizer,Slide Guitar,Drums (Steel),Guitar (Bass),Lap Steel Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Electric)
Lauren Chapman   Viola
Gabriel Currie   Guitar
Richard Dodd   Cello

Technical Credits

Mark Rankin   Mixing,Engineer
Tony Sales   Composer
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering
Ricky Gardiner   Composer
David Bowie   Composer
Carlos Alomar   Composer
Justin Smith   Assistant Engineer
Matt Helders   Composer
Iggy Pop   Composer
Hunt Sales   Composer
Reuben Cohen   Mastering
Davey Latter   Drum Technician
Dean Fertita   Composer
Andreas Neumann   Photography
Joshua Homme   Composer,Producer,Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Matthew Zivich   Guitar Technician