Viagra Boys are magnificently and unapologetically loud, spastic, and unstoppable. As they mix and twist all the sounds of classic punk rock with modern synthetic accents and vintage disco vibes, they make an explosion on the stage of music. Their Spotify bio sports eloquent metaphors like “a distorted 24/7 party on the acid highway going nowhere fast,” and frankly nothing can express it better.
In their aim to leave impressions on society and its flagrant list of contentions, Viagra Boys reach for a rawness of voice and tone to emulate the rawness of the human mind and how we choose to feel and see the world. In their song, “Girls & Boys,” there’s a plethora of creativity in the use of instruments, with a few iconic guitar riffs punctuating the rhythm. The disco vibe comes through in the beat, while the instruments and voice synthesizing resonate that punk rock vibe. The element of the loud, almost screaming vocals even give off a touch of metal. “Girls & Boys” follow a pattern of their latest album, Welfare Jazz, of inserting some artistic intros (like “Ain’t Nice”), adding elements of jazz (like some strong sax in “Cold Play”), and some vintage-y touches from the 60s (like “Toad”). They brought together a lover of rock’s favorite things and created something tangible.
As the front singer busts forth with lyrics, there’s a fascinating touch of inserting the words “girls, boys, love” and “drugs” in between each line. Therefore, each following line is a comment on the previous word:
(Boys)
They want to go out on the town
(Drugs)
The only way I can boogie down
(Love)
Something that I know nothing about
You can almost boil it down to your everyday song about partying, maybe, but the band is all about satire. There’s definitely something more here than meets the eye.
They’re always trying to bring me down
(Girls)
But one day I will burn it down
(Drugs)
I’m standing still but spinning round
(Girls)
Yeah, one day I will burn it down
It’s a song of frustration, of psychosis, of disassociation, of feeling at the end of your rope. The singer’s declaration to end the world is suddenly punctuated near the end with an almost opposite plea:
Don’t burn it down
Don’t burn it down
The world keeps spinning round
But one day I’ll burn down
He’s fighting with himself, with the world, like he can’t seem to connect, but maybe it’s not the world he’s angry with?
And sometimes when I feel so alone
Well, one day I will burn it down
Maybe it’s himself he loathes after all…
Whatever the case may be, Viagra Boys have come at full force with their new album, ready to take on the fire with fire.
