Viagra Boys Grow Up

Also: The Hold Steady release their new single "Heavy Covenant"

The most surprising thing about Viagra Boys’ second album, Welfare Jazz, is the last two tracks, “To the Country” and “In Spite of Ourselves,” a John Prine cover from an unlikely place.

Viagra Boys have been among the more exciting bands in the last half decades' post-punk revival movement. While the efforts from Idles and Protomartyr last year were disappointing, Stockholm’s Viagra Boys have put out a new album that finds them growing up while still keeping their humor that sets them apart.

Their 2018 debut, Street Worms, explored toxic masculinity and self-destruction. Take “Sports,” for example, a song in which singer Sebastian Murphy names a bunch of “dude” stuff while working in slips like the personal favorite “rugby ball/wiener dog.”

Welfare Jazz picks up where Street Worms left off with “Ain’t Nice” and “Toad,” a song that finds Murphy singing the refrain “I don’t need no woman” as he avoids commitment and hits the road. While “Girls & Boys” also keeps the theme of self-destruction, it’s songs like “Into the Sun” that find Murphy full of regret for these decisions.

By the end of the record, he’s come to terms with the constant running. On “To the Country,” Murphy ponders how much more comfortable he believes life could be if he left town, over a Morse code keyboard part provided by member Martin Ehrencrona.

The album’s coda is a John Prine cover, “In Spite of Ourselves,” a duet with Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers. Instead of playing it as a traditional folk song, Murphy and Taylor make their best Moldy Peaches impression while rattling off the other’s imperfections, but “She’s my baby (I’m his honey) / I’m never gonna let you go."

Viagra Boys avoid the trap many other post-punk bands have fallen into and change their sound throughout this record. It’s still anchored by Henrik Höckert’s thundering bass and Tor Sjödén’s drums. Oskar Carls and Benjamin Vallé also provide sax and guitar flourishes, with “6 Shooter” being a fun exercise in mayhem, but the band has diversified as they sprout throughout the tracks.

Welfare Jazz isn’t the band “selling out” or “slowing down.” It’s an effort to find peace of mind.

Rating: ✌️✌️✌️✌️/5

Welfare Jazz is available via Year0001.

Single of the Week: The Hold Steady “Heavy Covenant”

The Hold Steady’s albums Almost Killed Me, Separation Sunday, and Boys and Girls in America are verified stone-cold indie rock classics. They were some of my most loved albums of my early 20s, but I haven’t enjoyed much of what has followed, leaning more into frontman Craig Finn’s solo records instead. In 2019, they released Thrashing Thru the Passion, which found keyboardist Franz Nicolay's return and was a step back in the next direction.

Since Nicolay’s departure, I have had a theory that he is the secret ingredient to The Hold Steady’s success. Their new single “Heavy Covenant” from their upcoming album Open Door Policy may prove this as it’s based around Nicolay's parts in the classic Hold Steady vein. Says Finn:

“Heavy Covenant” is a song about travel, technology, and human connection. The song came out of two different music pieces that THS piano/keyboardist Franz Nicolay brought in, and with the help of producer Josh Kaufman, we combined them. It came together quickly, and when our friends Stuart and Jordan came in and added the horns to the chorus it really seemed to bring it together. To us, this song is a great indication of where the band’s sound is at in 2021.

Open Door Policy is out 2/19 via the band’s Positive Jam label.

What’s your favorite Hold Steady album? Let me know in the comments!