Punk pioneer and legend Iggy Pop and rock demigod Josh Homme, of Queens Of The Stone Age and The Eagles Of Death Metal, have come together to release a new collaborative album. Entitled Post Pop Depression, the record is due to be released March 18 of this year and the duo have also announced their plans to tour with the material.
Work began after Iggy Pop initially contacted Homme suggesting the possibility of working together on a project. Like any sensible man, and musician, Homme appreciated the enormity of such an offer, and the pair began to exchange song ideas and notes. Homme was particularly interested in Iggy Pop’s Berlin stint with David Bowie, especially after dissolving his group Kyuss, a decision influenced by his feeling that they would never achieve the same kind of brilliance as Pop and Bowie did on Lust For Life and The Idiot.
His first record since 2013’s Ready To Die with The Stooges, Post Pop Depression hints at Iggy Pop questioning his own validity in today’s world. Commenting on the project he said “In American life, because it’s so hypercompetitive, what happens when you’re finally useless to everyone except hopefully not yourself? What happens then? And can you continue to be of use to yourself? I had a kind of character in mind. It was sort of a cross between myself and a military veteran.” Nearly a mythical creature of music, the question of whether he is a legend or the last dinosaur is an understandable one.
Josh Homme termed the record a “much deserved victory lap” for Pop, who he described as “the last one of the one-of-a-kinds”. He also told of how working on Post Pop Depression has helped him deal with the trauma of the Paris terror attacks that targeted The Eagles Of Death Metal’s show last year. Despite not being present at the show at Bataclan, Homme was deeply affected by the incident and said of his collaboration with Pop “The fact that I had this to work on, it saved me”.
The project also draws some fairly serious talent along side Homme and Pop, with Dean Fertitia (QoTSA and The Dead Weather) on guitar and keyboards, and contributions from Arctic Monkeys‘ drummer Matt Helders. A tour of the album is also expected, where the group will also be joined by QotSA’s Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and Chavez’s bassist Matt Sweeney. Though initially recorded under their own aegis, Post Pop Depression will be released under Loma Vista records. Josh Homme and Iggy Pop will also appear on this week’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert for the debut performance of the new material.
.@IggyPop #PostPopDepression @colbertlateshow debut performance TONIGHT! Read: @nytimes https://t.co/aVsLFX78T0 pic.twitter.com/YDwLv1vfni
— QOTSA (@qotsa) January 21, 2016