Viagra Boys -- Welfare Jazz: Review

Viagra Boys -- Welfare Jazz

[YEAR0001]

Swedish punk outfit Viagra Boys break into 2021 with their sophomore record Welfare Jazz following their debut in 2018 where they first broke into their signature groovy post-punk sound. The former record, Street Worms, made waves in the punk scene for the band’s obtuse songwriting and impressive performances on each track. Their stiff shifting instrumentals laid the backdrop for their wildcard singer Sebastian Murphy whose odd physical appearance and performances held the attention of fans.

Murphy’s scratchy wail contrasting with his rigid deadpan deliveries makes for a modern punk voice so unique and unmistakable. Along with the vocals, the instrumentals are rich with character. The tight rhythm section offers groovy rhythms that run like basic guidelines for the experimental guitars, noisy synths, and no-wave saxophone runs to build dissonant and driving timbre.

So while Viagra Boys fell a little flat on execution on Street Worms, you could see the potential was there. Their ‘thesis statement’ up until now, summing up all their best elements, is their 2018 single “Sports” which is a satirical sports anthem that sees each member of the band flexing their abilities at their best. This viral single and its hilarious music video is where I and many others were first introduced to the band. If you’ve never heard of Viagra Boys before, I highly recommend the music video for “Sports” linked here as a starting point.

So after a year of heavy touring in 2019 and throughout 2020, the band kept alluding to a new album on the horizon. My hopes like anyone else was that the band would deliver more and more of their cynical quirk but deliver a tighter album (better than Street Worms). And I'm glad I can confidently say that this new album Welfare Jazz is everything I hoped it could be.

Right at the beginning, Viagra Boys offer one of their highest energy bangers with “Ain’t Nice”, a post-punk anthem about an asshole screwing up everything and everyone in his life. From the bassline, to the pummeling drums, to the chipping synths, and Murphy’s spastic ad-libs the song is bursting with charisma. I’m particularly happy with saxophonist Oskar Karls’s squawking licks that ring like alarms, not at all unlike a James Chance & the Contortions song.

“Toad” is another banger that continues a theme of hypermasculinity woven throughout this record. Murphy’s lyrics on Welfare Jazz satirically mock toxic masculinity, specifically making fun of commitment issue-riddled machismo on this song.

Well, I don't need no woman tellin' me

When to go bed and when to brush my teeth

Girl, if you ain't my mother, please don't try to be

Girl, you can't change this old hound dog

All the while, Thor Sjödén’s skittering drum beat keeps the blood pumping through the whole song and the added group vocals add a nice layer of depth too.

“Into The Sun” is a mellow, slow burner that sees a narrator as a pathetic man, begging for his lover to take him back. This song shows a softer side of the band that first caught me off guard because of how much a tonal shift it is from their normal sound but I definitely learned to hear the band’s appreciation for their slower dance pop ballads.

Jump to “Creatures”, which is their true-blue synth-punk banger that takes as much LCD Soundsystem as it does Talking Heads. The song features a catchy synthline and cute bell chimes that make this song probably the most accessible Viagra Boys song to date. Also Karls’s plays his most soothing sax performance in a short solo here that adds to this funky, dark landscape the lyrics portray.

“Six Shooter” is a straightforward krautrocking banger with a simplistic and hypnotic bassline that carries the whole jam. Keyboardist Martin Ehrencrona is in full effect here, completely letting loose with every keyboard effect he can imagine from subtle synth embellishments to noisy synths and garage rock pianos. The whole thing swells and explodes to create an unlikely but beautiful mashup of krautrock and dance-punk with some no wave sprinkled in.

Following is “Secret Canine Agent” which continues on an odd Viagra Boys in-joke from “This Old Dog” and even their debut album about animals secretly spying on us(?). Uhh, I have no idea what it means but the song is a short and sweet rocker that sees the band at their most dissonant on the whole record.

“I Feel Alive” is a jaunty saloon waltz that teases Murphy's interest in country singing (which is continued in the last bit of the album on “To The Country” and the closer. “I Feel Alive” is definitely a bit of a tonal shock with its odd combo of clean pianos and twangy riffs with Murphy’s raspy delivery but it lands well.

“Girls & Boys” features this call & response sequence between Murphy and… Murphy where his deadpan voice offers the themes of the song to the ‘hypermasculine’ Murphy voice that screams back in anger at the other voice. Definitely one of their most exciting songs here and one of their catchiest too.

The album takes an odd choice for the ending with a cover duet between Murphy and Amy Taylor of the Aussie rock band Amyl and the Sniffers of the John Prine ballad “In Spite Of Ourselves”. Each of the singers’ goofy but sincere deliveries transform the cover into a continuation of the hypermasculine critique in the rest of the album. The band creatively works in the dark, scary sounds seen in the rest of the album into the rendition, making a goofy but sincere end to the record.

Welfare Jazz sees Viagra Boys expanding in all directions, crossing genre boundaries to make some truly creative and memorable post-punk. The band’s musical chemistry and tenacity for quirk culminate into one of the most forward-thinking punk records I’ve heard in awhile and (of course) the band’s best album yet.

8.6/10.

Trying out all kinds of new things, including rating systems so albums might be rated out of ten from now on.