Iggy Pop & Josh Homme Announce Their Album 'Post Pop Depression'
/(Photo via something-witty.com)
By Enrique Mendoza
With the recent surprise announcement that Iggy Pop and Josh Homme are working together on an album together, curious eyes certainly have something interesting to treat their ears to coming up in mid-March. With both musicians having relatively established careers and discographies, along with notable musicians from other bands (Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys) Post Pop Depression has the opportunity to be a noteworthy collaboration.
With the long winded career of Iggy Pop, starting with the legendary proto-punk band the Stooges and numerous solo works under his work, Iggy has made his mark on rock music and pop culture for sure. Combined with the efforts of Josh Homme, who has a history of making decent collaboration albums in the past (Them Crooked Vultures particularly) and a great track record of projects driven by him (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), this combination certainly has the ability to be something worth spending time on.
Leading up to the release of Post Pop Depression , two singles have been released that also happen to be the first two tracks according to some reportings, being “Break Into Your Heart” and “Gardenia”.
“Break Into Your Heart” opens with what appears to be a duo between Homme and Pop, with a haunting melody and a fuzzy guitar playing to the tune of the vocals. The verses break with a distorted guitar full of attitude as the drums and bass march along to this plea of love and affection. The song comes off as if Iggy and Josh were traversing alone through a hot desert, all due to their ambitious infatuation and hard promise to love this person who’m which they desire to know absolutely everything about. And while at moments in the song it can be difficult to differentiate whose voice is whose, you can feel their desire through their voices. While musically is nothing evolutionary for Homme and his style of playing with Queens of the Stone Age, it’s still enjoyable as a laid back rock ballad of love and desperation if you can get over it’s standardized Homme tone.
“Gardenia” takes a different tone and direction that “Break Into Your Heart,” holding a synth driven, 80’s new wave stylization, with Iggy taking over vocals for a majority of the track. A tasteful change in style, with a deep, sliding bassline and quick, trebly, guitar slashes, as Iggy’s deep, withered but lively voice croons about a voluptuous and curvy black woman that has caught his eye on a lonely night, wishing her the finest things life has to offer , like she deserves, with more than a couple hints to her being a prostitute. With Homme’s high pitched harmonizing on the chorus, it adds a sense of wanting and attraction of a gorgeous woman. This song is not just a love song to a gorgeous woman, also to what a lonely night has to offer for a man roaming the streets. The song maintains it’s synth drive for a majority of the song, giving some time for the guitars to shine and strum to the revelation of what the protagonist’s revelations of his habits. The song shows the group’s willingness to delve into topics besides love and break ups, as they reveal their ability to move beyond Homme’s desert rock style without dropping it completely.
While both singles certainly aren’t songs you fall in love with immediately, they have the ability to grow on you over a couple listens, leaving you just a little bit more to notice and discover each time. While these tracks don’t give off the feeling the album will be a phenomenal piece, it certainly feels like a nostalgic trip into both Iggy and Josh’s established careers and what those combined sounds can shape up to be. The lineup has potential that can most definitely be seized with the correct execution. Let’s hope the results are satisfactory in March.
