Viagra Boys

Stockholm gutter rats Viagra Boys are the best band in the world. I think. Everyone seems utterly perplexed by the band, attempting to explain what they stand for, why they exist- are they a true feminist punk band? Are they a comment on failed masculinity? Are they reactionary to the rise of the neo-right in Sweden? Are they just fuckheads on the wrong end of a few decades of drug taking?

Whilst seeing Viagra Boys live is undoubtedly where they will win most new fans, new album ‘Street Worms’ (oddly released on Year0001, home of Yung Lean and Bladee) is nonetheless a brilliant testament to the experiential wonders of self-loathing, as it flips from jaunty sardonicism (lead single ‘Sports’) to pained introspection on tracks like ‘Just Like You’.

When talking to the band, what strikes is that despite their rejection of all interpretations given as part of some ‘journalistic agenda’- the narrative is correct, though so genuine, so unaffected, it’s almost impossible to believe. It’s a true imprint of low culture on high culture, serving to elevate itself beyond its sum parts through musical and social chaos. I think. Regardless, we met with them on a chilly Dalston evening prior to their gig at Birthdays, to try and at least get a glimpse of why Viagra Boys exist in the manner they do.

Q: You’ve exploded into wider consciousness on the back of the singles on your new album, but you’re in no way a new band, having put out a few EPs dating back to 2015. Could you tell me a bit about how you guys got started?

A: We knew each other beforehand, and when we got drunk we’d always talk about forming a band, but then saw Sebastian [Vocals] singing karaoke- ‘We Belong Together’ by Mariah Carey, and it was amazing. We all wanted to do something different to what we’d done before, as well as having listened to a lot of the same stuff, stuff that was still raw but had an element of weirdness to it. To put it simply, we just wanted to make weird music.

Q: Your sound is quite hard to pin down, as you are ‘Punk’, but also have a real groove to some of your songs that maybe isn’t so ‘three chords by angry guys’. What are you trying to get across when writing or performing?

A: I think when we met we were taking a lot of drugs and listening to a lot of techno, and we wanted to incorporate that sort of thud-thud-thud monotone essence into what we were doing. The feeling isn’t necessarily something we go into the track trying to create, but more what happens through mixing different elements together, and seeing whether we like what comes out.

Q: Reading other interviews with you guys, a lot is made of you subverting, and maybe taking the piss slightly, out of traditional masculine roles- is this something you’ve consciously adopted?

A: It’s not something we’re against, but we’re not ‘the feminist punk band’. I think people always tend to try and find an explanation for why things are, when really we don’t have anything important to say, or questions to raise. We are feminists, but we’re also just ourselves, pieces of shit, who just happen to be men!

Q: ‘Street Worms’ is amazing. Could you tell me a bit about the inspiration and process that went into creating it?

A: The past couple of years, due to the extensive travelling and drug taking, our brains have developed into this constantly shifting mess of ideas about music, and what we want to do generally. We’re already over the album, we’re going to do something completely different for the next one. Might make a jazz record, who knows? Got to keep them guessing. You don’t get opportunities like this too often, so fuck it.

Words by Dan Pare | Illustration by Alex Ram