viagr aboys

“I found a crouton underneath a futon,” singer Sebastian Murphy intones over a steady bass throb punctuated by flute accents on “Uno II”, one of the many clever and catchy tunes on the quasi-self-titled viagr aboys. “Mama said I couldn’t eat it ’cause all my teeth are gone.” Such is the delightfully absurdist world of Viagra Boys, a Swedish quasi-punk group with an American vocalist and an undying hunger for shrimp and shrimp-related products.

The band’s fourth album doubles down on the self-deprecating, society-skewering antics and infectious grooves of 2022’s Cave World with gleeful abandon. Powered by slashing guitars and a droning chorus, “Man Made of Meat” offers historical perspective for modern complainers: “I don’t wanna pay for anything/Clothes and food and drugs for free/If it was 1970, I’d have a job at a factory.” Jet-propelled bass boogie “The Bog Body” doubles as a commentary on superficiality that plays out like an inversion of the Demi Moore body-horror flick The Substance, complete with a zombielike swamp woman.

“Pyramid of Health” simultaneously apes and lampoons Marcy Playground’s grunge-esque ’90s hit “Sex and Candy” before veering into carnival music and electronic noise. Resurrecting a successful template from previous albums, Murphy cuts loose with a hilarious, possibly stream-of-consciousness rant over skronky free jazz on “Best in Show Pt. IV”. With breathy backing vocals and a chiming minor-key organ melody, “Medicine for Horses” is more plaintive, reflective and—maybe—straight-faced. The same could be said of Murphy’s mournful, wavering vocal on closer “River King”, but who knows? Where Viagra Boys are concerned, it’s anyone’s guess.