VIAGRA BOYS レコード& CD

Review: There's a good reason that the Viagra Boys' latest album is self-titled. Unlike their previous album, 2022's satirical, politically-charged Cave World, the Swedish post-punkers' latest set is lyrically far more introspective, with frontman Sebastian Murphy offering (in the band's own words), a "self-deprecating exploration of his own absurdity" (or, in the case of opener 'Made of Meat', "your mom's Only Fans"). Musically sitting between energetic, horn-heavy early 80s post-punk and grunge-fired US alt-rock - with occasional nods to more tropical and melody-driven flavours - the album is heaps of fun with strong songs aplenty, not least the jaunty 'Pyramid of Health', the low-slung, synth-sporting 'Waterboy' and the surprisingly pastoral 'River King'.

Review: There's no two ways about it: Viagra Boys will go down in history as one of the great Swedish success stories, alongside The Hives, Refused and ABBA. And they've done it without a squeaky clean image, which is refreshing in modern times - this is a band your mum probably wouldn't want you listening to as a kid. In terms of strengthening their status as modern titans of punk and rock n' roll in their country and globally, this fourth studio album is going to do just that. Lead single 'Man Made Of Meat' sets them up perfectly, it's like a sequel to The Stranglers' 'Peaches' in the verses and there's a rabble rousing chorus that you can't help but want to shout-a-long to. What's interesting sonically is they've been indulging in studio effects to twist guitars to sound like synths, meaning they've broadened their sound a lot compared to when they burst onto the scene with 'Sports'. That drive to innovate makes them all the more alluring, but they've not lost any of their character or feral sensibilities.

Review: First popping up on our radar in 2020 - or rather hurling itself onto it with all the subtlety punk can muster - Common Sense gets a reissue and not before time. Outspoken but never outgunned, Swedes Viagra Boys rightly courted some serious praise with 2022's album, Cave World, so it makes sense to revisit this epic EP in a bid to get newcomers acquainted with what came before. Opening on the title number, things may not sound quite as you'd expect. While known for their ability to wield bloody-lipped chargers, 'Common Sense' owes as much to shoegaze and synth rock as it does punk variants, immediately marking the outfit out as something not quite so easy to define. Nevertheless, 'Lick the Bang' is straight up topless sweatbox material, and 'Sentinel Island' centres our brains on wonderfully distorted and frayed riffs. Closing on the slow, nostalgia-hued 'Blue', it's quite the collection.