Label: YEAR0001
Released: 8th July 2022
Never ones to shy away from confrontation, Swedish post-punks Viagra Boys return jubilant at the idea of the world becoming a bit stupid. Seemingly the toxic rhetoric bouncing around the internet is prime fodder for vocalist Sebastian Murphy’s razor-sharp, bang-on-the-money lyrical sniper.
On ‘Cave World’, they take the last few years and distil them into something that doesn’t make you want to cry with exasperation, but instead laugh at the ridiculousness. All the recent societal greatest hits of late, including anti-vaxxers (‘Creepy Crawlies’) get a nod. Even a few timeless classics such as denying an evident crime (‘Ain’t No Thief’) and a lackadaisical, whimsical cross-hair on gate-keeping punk types in true VBoys style (‘Punk Rock Loser’).
Add in the band’s slight skewing to bouncier, boppier sounds – still with that Viagra Boys snarling crunch – and what you have is a resounding success for one of the more intriguing and enrapturing bands to do the post-punk thing. ■ Steven Loftin
