Back in March, the Swedish punk group Viagra Boys surprise dropped a new EP called Common Sense. It was pretty great — its title track ranked amongst our favorite songs that week — and hinted at more new music on the horizon. Today, the band has returned with news of just that: In January, Viagra Boys will greet the new year with a sophomore outing titled Welfare Jazz.
For Welfare Jazz, Viagra Boys reteamed with past collaborators like Pelle Gunnerfeldt and Daniel Fagerström, but they also brought in new producers including Matt Sweeney and Justin and Jeremiah Raisen. Like their past work, Welfare Jazz is noisy and sardonic, lashing out at late capitalism and classism and toxic masculinity and a whole bunch of other targets; its title is a reference to the idea that the Swedish government offers financial support for “high art” like jazz as a priority, presumably, over other art forms.
“I’m not good at talking about politics, but everything is political when it comes down to it,” frontman Sebastian Murphy said in a statement. “I’d rather write a song about being defeated, which usually comes from a real place and says a lot. We wrote these songs at a time when I had been in a long-term relationship, taking drugs every day, and being an asshole. I didn’t really realize what an asshole I was until it was too late, and a lot of the record has to do with coming to terms with the fact that I’d set the wrong goals for myself.”
Along with the announcement, Viagra Boys have shared a new song called “Ain’t Nice.” Rather than the more reflective “Common Sense,” it follows in the footsteps of the cacophonous, misanthropic side of Viagra Boys’ music. Think the grinding, snarling groove of stuff like “Sports,” and “Ain’t Nice” picks the story up there. The video features Murphy doing a drunken asshole rendition of the “Bittersweet Symphony”-style video, as he barrels down an idyllic Swedish street terrorizing everyone. That is, until a little kid tases him and he time travels to the 1700s. No, I’m not joking. Check it out below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Ain’t Nice”
02 “Cold Play”
03 “Toad”
04 “The Old Dog”
05 “Into The Sun”
06 “Creatures”
07 “6 Shooter”
08 “Best In Show II”
09 “Secret Canine Agent”
10 “I Feel Alive”
11 “Girls & Boys”
12 “To The Country”
13 “In Spite Of Ourselves”
Welfare Jazz is out 1/8 via YEAR0001. Pre-order it here.
