In news that’s sure to serve as a dream come true to rock fans around the world, Iggy Pop and Josh Homme are set to release a new, collaborative album this March, with a short tour to follow.
As the New York Times reports, the punk legend and the Queens of the Stone Age frontman began working on the album, titled Post Pop Depression, in secret and without a label, last January.
“We paid for whatever ourselves,” Pop told the New York Times. “But it was made to be heard — not to be some quirky thing that we did with our own money.”
Pop said Homme “took me to a place I’d never been”, while the former Kyuss guitarist added, “This was to go where neither of us had gone before. That was the agreement. And to go all the way.”
Homme is fresh off of QOTSA’s most acclaimed album to date, Like Clockwork…, and a new Eagles of Death Metal album, while Pop’s last release came in 2013 with The Stooges’ Ready to Die.
The godfather of punk was reportedly living quietly in Miami when he reached out to Homme via text and asked if he would be interested in writing some songs, a chance Homme immediately jumped at.
After speaking on the phone, Pop sent Homme a package filled with potential lyrics, other writings, and notes about his Berlin days with David Bowie, as per Homme’s request.
Three months later, Homme hit Pop with some work-in-progress poems and songs that he’d been working on and the two finally decided it was time to hit the studio.
According to Pop, the pair’s album will revolve around questions of legacy as one nears the end of their career. “In American life, because it’s so hypercompetitive, what happens when you’re finally useless to everyone except hopefully not yourself?” he said.
“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.”
Post Pop Depression will feature nine tracks and was recorded at Homme’s famous home studio in Joshua Tree, California, as well as his Burbank space, affectionally called Pink Duck.
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Musicians who appear on the album include QOTSA and Dead Weather guitarist/keyboardist Dean Fertita and Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, both of whom will join the tour, along with QOTSA’s Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and musician Matt Sweeney on bass.
“He is the last one of the one-of-a-kinds,” Homme said of Pop. “This is a much deserved victory lap for a man who’s not sure if he won. But he did. He may have tunneled underground for lots of that, but he still got to the destination.”
Homme and Pop first worked together on the ‘silent musical’ Gutterdammerung. Post Pop Depression will be released on 18th March. The duo will debut music this week on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
