'Post Pop Depression' revisits punk's heyday (A)

Just when you thought Iggy Pop was out of the music industry for good, he swooped back in with a grand entrance like any punk rockstar should.

The March 18 release of “Post Pop Depression” is reminiscent of Iggy’s second solo studio album “Lust for Life,” as close to a sequel as he’ll ever get. But then again, it takes a weird turn into the desert thanks to having Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme at the helm. Guitarist Dean Fertita, also from Queens of the Stone Age, and Matt Helders from the Arctic Monkeys are along for the ride as well.

At 68 years old, Iggy doesn’t seem any more or less phased. He’s still dancing around shirtless, crowd surfing and living according to the golden rules of rock ‘n’ roll. Although he does casually slip in themes of death, coming to terms finally that he is, after all, getting older. Rumor has it, this album is it. What a perfectly punk way to end a tremendous pioneering career.

“Break Into Your Heart” starts the album with cultish echoes. It’s something straight out of a horror film or like Mola Ram from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” about to rip into your chest with his bare hands.

“American Valhalla,” on the other hand, takes a complete 180 degree turn, the beginning beat like the musical transitions between scenes in a Kung Fu movie. It’s evident here he’s pondering mortality and how, even after a lifetime, he doesn’t have an answer. He sings, “Death is the pill that's hard to swallow / Is anybody in there? / And can I bring a friend?”

The deeper you get into the tracks, the more hodgepodge and out-of-the-ordinary things begin to seem. But Iggy’s a little out of the ordinary, so it’s far from a flaw. Homme arranged the strings and brass for the orchestral outro at the end of “Sunday” following the song’s dance party vibe for crying out loud. There’s nothing too eccentric when it comes to the godfather of punk.

“Post Pop Depression” finishes as “Iggy” as it possibly can. He’s angsty more than ever. He’s pissed off and he’s laying it all out on the table — “Fear eats all the souls at once / I'm tired of it / And I dream about getting away / To a new life.” “Paraguay” is his middle finger to modern society and the depression we as listeners fall to, too, knowing Iggy’s reign is over.