Viagra Boys' 2022 album
Cave World was a set of messed-up songs reflecting a messed-up world. Written while the band was waiting out the COVID-19 lockdown with the rest of the planet, it was informed by isolation, anxiety, and paranoia that seems reasonably justified. Three years later, the group clearly isn't much more optimistic about the global state of affairs, but their coping skills have changed. 2025's
Viagr Aboys is the work of men who are puzzled and appalled by the monoculture that surrounds them, and they've responded with a pronounced smirk and a raised middle finger. Lyrically,
Viagr Aboys is a slightly more refined variation on the themes they explored on 2019's
Street Worms and 2021's
Welfare Jazz. If "Medicine for Horses" shows lead singer and lyricist
Sebastian Murphy is capable of greater intelligence and introspection these days, he only pulls that out of his tool kit on occasion, and the cocky stream of consciousness on "Man Made of Meat" and "Waterboy" is more representative of his approach here. That's not to say his surreal wordplay isn't impressively clever, and his cheerful acknowledgement of his capacity for beer consumption in "You N33d Me" shows he's still getting in touch with his muse the old-fashioned way. Musically,
Viagra Boys have gotten better at making use of the studio with each LP, and
Viagr Aboys shows this progression hasn't stopped. The songwriting is hookier and the technique feels more precise here (especially on "Uno II"), though that's used in the service of the band's love of chaos. While the closing number, "River King," is the most serene performance they've issued to date, and you could even dance to "Dirty Boyz" if you felt like it, the honking blare and electronic blurts of "The Bog Body," the hungover twang of "Pyramid of Health," and the shaggy-dog jamming of "Best in Show Pt. IV" confirm that the group's ongoing dedication to providing an appropriate soundtrack to a cultural demolition derby is paying off. And, against all odds, they even make it good, dissonant fun. Saying this is
Viagra Boys' best album to date is as much a reflection of taste as a matter of quality, but
Viagr Aboys shows they're only getting better at channeling their sonic havoc into workable form, and it's some sort of wild triumph. ~ Mark Deming
