Iggy Pop - Every Loser

‘Every Loser’ (the 20th studio album from 75-year-old Iggy Pop) begins with a gnarled barrage of sweary insults - “You fucking prick / You goddamn dick”- and ends with a song entitled ‘The Regency’, whose main objective, it quickly transpires, is to “fuck” said institution. From a modern band of London punk oiks, we’d call it cliched; but the crucial point here lies between the parentheses. Is there any other man on earth who, in his eighth decade, could still summon this much bile? Who could still make a well-placed curse sound this vitriolic? Who could still discover this much glee in being a naughty little tearaway? ‘Every Loser’ isn’t just an exercise in returning to Iggy’s roots, however. Vocally, he switches masterfully between the resonant baritone that’s categorised his later life (the atmospheric, ‘80s-ish ‘Strung Out Johnny’ or ‘New Atlantis’) and a snotty punk sneer that harks back to the Iggy of old (‘Modern Day Rip Off’ with its closing howls or the Green Day-ish ‘Neo Punk’). There’s even a strong line in wry spoken word that’ll satisfy fans of his inimitable radio voice. By embracing all sides of his 50 years in the game, ‘Every Loser’ is Iggy throwing out the late-career rulebook and having a whole bunch of fun. Which is, of course, what made him so brilliant in the first place.