Looking for something to get your blood flowing, and keep you going all night long? Look no further than Viagra Boys!
Officially forming in 2015, the Swedish punk rockers have released two EPs – 2016's Consistency of Energy and 2017's Call of the Wild – and unleashed their debut studio album, Street Worms, last year via YEAR0001 (the same Swedish label as rappers Yung Lean and Bladee).
The Stockholm six-piece features members Sebastian Murphy, Benjamin Vallé, Martin Ehrencrona, Henrik Höckert and Tor Sjödén, some of whom previously played in bands Les Big Byrd, Pig Eyes and Nitad.
But the others? They met while getting tattoos. Murphy, son of a Swedish mother and American father, is a tattoo artist-turned punk rocker.
"Sebastian's a tattoo artist and my ex-girlfriend was getting a tattoo," Sjödén said, "and we got drunk together and decided to start a punk band. Then we saw Sebastian singing karaoke and thought, 'we have to do this.'"
Viagra Boys have become known for their unbridled energy in their exuberant live performances, making them one of Europe's hottest live acts (not to mention Murphy's tendency to end up sprawled on the floor after flailing about the stage).
Check out one of the shows that put them on the map at Stockholm's Kafé 44:
Their latest release, Street Worms, uses satire and self-loathing to dismiss hypermasculinity in the Western World (which makes total sense, given the band name).
"Men are basically the root of all problems,” Höckert said in an interview. "Just take a look at society, Vallé added.
"Patriarchy has to be crushed, and we all need to carry along a message of solidarity."
They parody the patriarchy in a lot of their songs, notably "Sports," in which Murphy mindlessly lists off typical bro-dude things, like "Baseball, basketball, weiner dog, short shorts, cigarettes."
"I think a lot of the lyrics in our music come from a place of self hate, in a sense, which is part of being a man in today’s society," Murphy said.
Growing up, the band say they listened to a lot of Iron Maiden, Misfits, Queens of the Stone Age and Slipknot. But now? Murphy says "we're all jazz fans, actually."
Their lyrics challenge traditional punk and male-centric music roles, over garage punk-y riffs and a heavy, bass-driven sound.
Street Worms highlights their punk-rock tendencies ("Down in the Basement," "Slow Learner") but also takes things down a notch ("Just Like You," "Worms").
Looking to the future, the band says they'll be experimenting a little more, but they don't plan on making anything too centered around politics, since their political views are pretty clear.
"Our music has got a lot of humor in it," Murphy said.
"I don’t like taking life all that serious, so that I’d have to write a song proving that I hate the right...but if you wanna ask me about it, then ask me a question about it – but I don’t need to write about it to prove anything to anybody.”
Viagra Boys were busy on the festival circuit throughout Europe and the UK this summer, and recently brought their talents to Monero Beach, where they performed at Desert Daze (you can check out all the setlists from Desert Daze here).
Up next, the band is taking their Street Worms Tour back to Europe and the UK. Head to Viagra Boys' website to see a full list of dates!
