Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
The Viagra Boys have been cutting through noise with their no-nonsense songwriting, combined with an unmistakable tongue-in-cheek humour, that has reinvigorated the garage-rock and punk genres. They've quickly become your favourite coffee shop owners or tattoo artists' favourite band. Their aura and output have been the closest I've seen to the original Oasis effect. You'll remember back when Noel and Liam captured audiences with their brash and comically rude personas, that Oasis effect. Only this time around, the Viagra Boys have a much less annoying energy than they do. While they're still countercultural, they have a softness and feel more authentic than the hyper-stylised Oasis Brothers, who are relatively clean-cut for today's market, although still annoying. They're much more like your local tattooed jokester, lovable rogue, or personality hire in the best way. With the boys' latest record, Viagr Aboys (2025), critical acclaim has been coming thick and fast, praising their gritty psychedelic guitar riffs and punk-flavoured patter. As one of the biggest rock bands in the world, it's nice to see them continue to defy prevailing musical trends. Instead, sticking to their guns on this release from April.
Viagra Aboys has a real surf rock undertone to my ears, as it's clear the crew had a summer release in mind. Even in December, the album's saturation enhances its warmth, so in the winter months, there's a feeling of radiance and vibrancy. Tracks like 'Uno II', 'Pyramid of House' and 'Dirty Boys' exemplify this heat and effortless cool that the Viagra Boys have in spades. Rounded thumping bass lines, crackling guitars, and a vocal performance that draws you in with sincerity while still making you recoil from grizzly screams, and the strange noises illustrate what the boys are about.
On the other hand, the boys show an experimental side that really does rock. They ingest more psychoactives and plug in another distortion pedal before dropping power cord after power cord, only letting off just before the amplifiers explode. It's exciting to listen to. It makes your hair stand on end and sparks that fight-or-flight response just right. The tracks 'The Bug Body', 'You N33d Me' and 'Store Policy' all take different approaches to this idea, moving from straight-up belligerent punk bangers to jazzy, free-flowing spoken word, complete with odd vocal trills and even odder lyrics, which punctuate the band's nonconformist attitude.
My hold-up with the record is that, in places, it feels zany for zany's sake. The out-there attitude to songwriting conventions and performance is commendable up to the point where the band feel they're being odd or quirky for the sake of it. That could be the joke, and my humourless, simple mind hasn't quite comprehended it. But it feels like the band has done the whole Spinal Tap thing, turning everything to 11 to artificially enlarge the sound without much tangible improvement. Lyrics can become nonsensical, even distracting, at times wild riffs and musical ideas go from interesting to indulgent.
The group's unwillingness to fall in line with everyone else's style comes through in spades, though. There were some truly great tracks sprinkled all throughout Viagra Boys. Their willingness to take things down a notch on 'Medicine for Horses', which feels like an introspective look into the band's musical inspirations, is a welcome addition as they blend Blues and Americana folk rock into the signature sound. Other heavy hitters like 'Waterboy' and 'Man Made of Meat' take their iconic punk-adjacent sound and let riffs breathe while crafting those batshit hooks that have proved to be earworms since the album's release. Overall, the critical acclaim was warranted, as the band doesn't try to fix what's not broken and adds a little bit of spice to their repertoire.
Label: Shrimptech Enterprises (2025)
Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
