Iggy Pop releases anthemic punk reflection with new song ‘Strung Out Johnny’
Iggy Pop’s timeless timbre gathers wisdom like a time-travelling bookworm wriggling its way through the Library of Alexandria. Filled with the same gravelly character, he croons his way through the new single ‘Strung Out Johnny’ like a soul who has perused every demimonde in human history and his eye for appraising the disenfranchised has been canonised as the patron saint of punk layabouts.
With a synth sound reminiscent of The Killers providing a dual rhythm alongside a sumptuous rumbling bass, his anthemic return is an instant toe-tapper. Taken from his forthcoming 19th album, Every Loser, this latest offering follows last month’s adrenalised, distortion-filled rocker ‘Frenzy’. All of which begs the question: how can this mother fucker still be so cool? The bastard even still has abs you could grate cheese on and the hair of a 00s Jennifer Aniston.
At this stage of his career, he knows a lot about the seamless loss of innocence and this new rally cry is a cautionary tale about the slippery slope of drug experimentation. The distant prose that Pop weaves throughout the flowing bop helps to further the image of being adrift. This all adds up to one of his finest recent tracks.
Never forced and always restrained, ‘Strung Out Johnny’, achieves anthemic status in its gathering prowess—it’s a display of class over 90 minutes rather than a kitchen sink hurl followed by inevitable flagging, so to speak. This graces the song with a worldly sense of reflection and personality. Perhaps it is even about the great punk icon Johnny Thunders or maybe it’s just a rock ‘n’ roll pastiche, but either way, it has an air of authority.
For the new album, Pop has assembled an all-star crew including Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, and the late, great Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. The album is due for release on January 6th.
You can check out the brooding new single below.
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