Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

AGE is just a number.

Just ask Iggy Pop who, at 68, is still an icon of the music scene and is happy to reinvent himself and embrace change.

That is what makes the performer's 17th album so intriguing and refreshing.

Instead of trotting out a familiar record to a tired old formula, Pop teamed up with Queen of the Stone Age's (QOTSA) Josh Homme to stretch himself and explore new horizons.

Pop summed it up best when he said: "A lot of geezers my age don't work out of their comfort zone anymore because once you become legendary you don't want people challenging you."

The result is Post Pop Depression – an experimental supergroup album that could rival Damon Albarn's The Good, the Bad and the Queen when he teamed up with Paul Simonon from The Clash and Simon Tong from The Verve.

Pop and Homme completed their band with Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders and QOTSA and Dead Weather's Dean Fertita.

The idea of Pop collaborating with a new generation of musicians was to throw all their styles and influences into one melting pop.

It has been described as 'Detroit meets Palm Desert by the way of old Berlin vibe' and it sounds amazing.

The only failing really is that Homme's 'desert rock' influence is felt too strongly. In fact, you can hear his distinct style in each of the tracks.

At times you might even forget that Pop is on the album at all.

Do not let that put you off though because this is a superb collection of songs that do not wear out their welcome after numerous listens.

The incredibly infectious single, Gardenia, is the clear highlight. Sunday is almost as catchy and shows off Helders' drumming skills.

In The Lobby is the closest you will get to a QOTSA track on the album and the bass-led German Days is also great.

Who says you cannot teach an old dog new tricks?

DAVID MORGAN