Photos and feature by Lola Pistola
Check out an excerpt and some outtakes from our upcoming zine feature on Viagra Boys
Viagra Boys are hypnotic. Party vibes written all over them. If Rudimentary Peni had a pinch of dance music in them, Viagra Boys would be that unexpected spur — hence their name — they’d be that momentaneous rush to the head. Lead singer Sebastian Murphy has been compared to the late and ill-tempered Mark E. Smith, and while he is far from that, they’re probably equally entertaining and unexpected. Both adjectives describe the on-stage personas of the sextet and the Sweden-based band’s all around sound. Following the releases of Consistency of Energy EP, Call Of The Wild, and the Sports single amongst others, their sound bent to the surprisingly hip-fucking-shaker debut album Street Worms. Off the same label as Yung Lean and Bladee, YEAR001, they cannot be categorized as anything you wanted to hear before.
Before their Brooklyn show I met up with them in their green room at Rough Trade. The Swedish punks not only have a name that immediately gets drilled into your head, they have a remarkable and fun energy on stage that goes from hunting to scary to being absolutely choreographed with madness. I came into the room expecting them to be as crazy as they are on stage. Not to separate both aspects, but mentally, I was ready for them to be hard to talk to, for example. Wrong. I was absolutely wrong. They were welcoming, eager, and connected to each other as the conversation went on.
Their sound is unanticipated. Could you really put them under any music genre or category? I don’t think so. I don’t think they even know how to describe how they sound, they are though, embarking on an adventure where they’ll do whatever they want and have fun while doing so. No jamming, but sending each other ideas and slowly building the songs.
Read the full feature in Issue 8 available to pre-order here or pickup a copy in person this Thursday, August 8th, at our zine release party at The Broadway! Tix here
