How Iggy Pop Resurrected Punk 

Written by Marek

 To be honest, nothing's really happened in the music scene lately that would have caught my attention. I was really desperate to write an article about something I would enjoy, therefore I kept on searching to find something. Fortunately I did and I am writing this the night before the deadline, hopefully to share this magnificent find with you. 

Photo: Iggy Pop, nme.com

I have known the name Iggy Pop my whole life, but never actually heard his music properly. And I am sure there are a lot of people in the same position as me. Just for the record, he is the most punk guy you can imagine and he invented the stage dive. Moving on, I came across his new album, which he released on the sixth of January, and it is great. The album’s name is Every Loser and it is the nineteenth studio album by this rock legend. It was produced by Andrew Watt, who by the way is also one of the best studio guitarists around. The core band for this record is also loaded with famous names. Bass is played by Guns and Roses’s Duff McKagan, drums by Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Travis Barker from Blink 182, and guitar by Josh Klinghoffer, who also played in the Chili Peppers for some time. It also features drums by Taylor Hawkins, who was the drummer in the Foo Fighters before he tragically passed away. And of course, vocals by Iggy Pop.

 "Every Loser" is a punk rock record which is alternative in places, going back to Iggy Pop’s roots, considering he was drifting towards the indie vibe lately. It caught my attention from the first song ‘Frenzy’ with its catchy guitar riff and great bass. The bass kept me excited from the first song to the last, because I have not heard such good bass lines in a while, and I really paid attention to the great studio mixing making it loud but still retaining quality. I took notice of the loud and fast pounding drums later on after hearing them in the song ‘Neo Punk’. By name, it is a pretty accurate guess to call it the most punk song on the album. 

Also important to mention are the calmer songs like ‘Strung Out Johnny’. It still keeps its driving beat, but the atmosphere is looser. A place to appreciate the incredible musician lineup is definitely the third to last song ‘Comments’, starting with a catchy bass line from McKagan and Hawkin’s energetic drum beat. Hawkins also played in the last song ‘The Regency’. “A track that starts out as a ballad before transforming into an all-out riot”, writes Erica Campbell in NME. The song then falls back into mellowness, giving the album a nice touch to the end. 

“Every Loser is a present-day primal punk resurrection from the only musician qualified to make one.” continues Erica Campbell in her review in NME. 

If you want to get a taste of who that legendary person called Iggy Pop is, Every Loser is a great record to start with. It caught my attention and I do not have any bad words to say about it. This statement is also backed up by the Google User review, which stands at 97%. This album has revived the punk scene, which to be honest was in a fatal condition the past few years. We can expect more though, for example from the newly reunited Blink 182 trio, which delves more into the pop-punk style. They are set to release a new album, hopefully bringing them back into the limelight.

Erica Cambell, Iggy Pop -(2021, May 7th), ‘Every Loser’ review: The Godfather of Punk stages a raucous return to his roots, NME, https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/iggy-pop-every-loser-album-review-3369696