THE FRONT ROW

Iggy Pop is 19 albums deep into his illustrious career and his passion for impassioned chaos refuses to be quelled.

If you needed any confirmation as to Iggy Pop’s attitude and demeanour going into this record look no further than the opening lines of first track ‘Frenzy’. “I’ve got a dick and 2 balls that’s more than you all”. Iggy is confrontational from the offset. This provocation is a continuous theme throughout the record. The 75 year eternal teenage rebel rouser is sat with his tongue in cheek calling everyone out whilst not taking himself at all seriously. ‘Frenzy’ as it’s name suggests is a raucous and unrelenting opener. Unadulterated punk with booming guitars that set the floor perfectly for Iggy to trample all over. The driving guitars reminiscent of early Royal Blood. A heavy first punch that lands straight on the jaw.

‘Strung out Johnny’ follows, it’s a radio friendly single despite its lyrical content. Iggy singing about “Johnny” who is wrestling with the claws of addiction. “You’re strungout Johnny and now it’s time to pay”. Iggy the wise figure when drugs are being discussed. There’s an instrumental shift in this track with an alt pop melody at the forefront obtained through piercing power synths. Exemplary variation in style; a real standout on the record and as good as any contemporary is putting out.

‘New Atlantis’ starts with the infamous Iggy drawl; his spoken word description of New Atlantis “a beautiful whore of a city”. Another example of provocation, wanting to cause a stir and laughing in the face of any controversy. The early intrigue soon dissipates with ‘New Atlantis’ drifting into the myre. You are brought back to shore with a gorgeous strained guitar riff that will frustratingly make you return to the track for another hit.

When we reach the midpoint there’s a welcomed and warranted change of pace and direction with ‘Morning Show’. The slow and folorn acoustic track is backed by a soft and subtle piano melody that evokes warmth. It’s a track that shows the Godfather of Punk has a never ending arsenal of tools at his disposal to continue to bemuse and astound.

‘Every Loser’ falls into the patische that most punk albums find themselves in.This genre doesn’t lend itself to producing an abundance of undeniable albums from start to finish; there’s usually misfire and that’s present here. A solid effort that will appease the fanatics but will do little in the way to draw in a new crowd. Only issue being, Iggy Pop doesn’t give one fuck about any of that. ‘Every Loser’ ends up being a a lobsided top heavy album that shows ingenuity at its doors but loses momentum in its 2nd half. It resorts to rolling out tried and tested but ultimately uninteresting punk music. There’s enough smatterings of genius placed within ‘Every Loser’ to show that you cannot simply lay Iggy Pop to rest; this man defies all odds. Quite unimaginable that 19 albums in Iggy Pop retains the excitement and thirst to create new iterations of his trademark punk style.

Key Track: Morning Show

3/5