The Viagra Boys review: Modern antiquity at Washington, DC’s Anthem

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Viagra Boys frontman Sebastian Murphy opened his scathing critique of modern society, the song “Troglodyte” from their 2023 album *Cave World*, by saying, “I can’t believe we’ve made it this far without getting deported.”

Before he started singing, he said one more thing, but it’s too inappropriate to repeat. Let’s just say it was a rhyming, alliterative phrase suggesting what his audience could do about the growing threat of fascism – and it sounded like ‘chuck’.

So, I caught Viagra Boys at the Anthem in DC recently – it was near the end of their ‘Infinite Anxiety Tour’. The guys are from Sweden and they’re hard to pin down genre-wise, which is awesome. Their singer, Murphy, was clearly exhausted, but he said the energy from the huge crowd – there were like five thousand of us! – totally gave him a second wind. It was a really great show!

The band put on a high-energy performance, playing 19 songs in just over an hour and a half. The audience enthusiastically danced and sang along to every song.

Viagra Boys defy description as modern primitives

It’s tough to pin down exactly what kind of music Viagra Boys make. People have called it punk, hardcore, or even industrial, and you can hear hints of emotional hardcore too. But honestly, those labels don’t quite capture what frontman Murphy and the band are doing, particularly on their newest album, *viagra boys*. I’ve been trying to find the right way to describe it.

Viagra Boys have a sound similar to if Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers was the lead singer of Modest Mouse. They combine catchy melodies with a raw, energetic, and slightly chaotic rhythm section – a quality their vocalist, Murphy, calls ‘looseness’.

If the 13th Floor Elevators had survived and witnessed the rise of punk, they might sound like Viagra Boys. This is particularly noticeable in the band’s expansive and swirling instrumental passages, which create a slightly unsettling, carnival-esque atmosphere. Elias Jungqvist’s use of synthesizers and Oskar Carls’ saxophone and flute playing add a unique, off-kilter color to every song.

You know, listening to Murphy’s music, especially the track “Return to Monke” from *Cave World*, really reminds me of The Kinks. It doesn’t *sound* much like their song “Apeman” at first, but they both hit on this idea of wanting to go back to a more basic way of life. It makes you think, maybe all this ‘evolution’ isn’t as great as we’ve been told!

As a huge fan, I noticed something really cool at the start of Vance Joy’s show! He opened with “Man Made of Meat,” the first song on his latest album, and the lyrics actually mention the year The Kinks released *Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One*. It’s a neat little detail that I loved, and the chorus goes like this…

I don’t want to have to pay for basic necessities like clothes, food, and medicine – I wish they were free. If it were the 1970s, I’d be working in a factory. I’m just a regular person, and it feels strange that you’re out there online looking at pictures of feet. Honestly, I dislike most things, and I just want to escape from it all.

Okay, so I saw this band live, and the singer, Murphy, is seriously energetic – running around shirtless with tattoos, kind of reminded me of Iggy Pop, but maybe not *quite* as ripped. But the real driving force was the bass player, Benke Hockert. He just laid down this huge wall of sound that kept every song moving. Apparently, Benke discovered Murphy singing karaoke about ten years ago – Murphy’s American, but he’s lived in Stockholm since he was a teenager!

I’ve been following this band for a while now, and it’s been amazing to see them grow! They’ve put out four albums and really worked their way up to becoming one of the biggest names in the punk scene. What I love about their sound is that it’s just relentlessly energetic – it hits you like a wave, then feels like a speeding train. They’ve got this unique knack for melody too, and the singer’s lyrics are just… wonderfully strange and really well-written. You can hear bits and pieces of different influences, but honestly, they sound like no one else.

The band’s songwriting has clearly improved over time. While they included a couple of strong older songs, like the extended and energetic “Research Chemicals” and the unusual instrumental piece “Cold Play” – both of which gave the guitarist plenty of room to improvise – around half of the songs performed were from their most recent album.

Murphy looks outward, as in the Sex-and-Candyish “Pyramid of Health”…

Join us! Bring an offering – a goat will do – and dress up in your brightest feathers and favorite jewelry. Reach new heights with our amazing shrimp dish, and you’ll find peace and overcome your fear of death. Welcome to the path to wellness – the pyramid of health!

And he looks inward in “Uno II”…

“I seem like such a bitch when I talk about Swedish politics.”

Murphy consistently creates striking and unusual images with his lyrics, similar to beat poetry – they suggest meanings without being overly direct. Meanwhile, Hockert and the band deliver a powerful and driving musical foundation for those lyrics.

Murphy had a rough start to “Down in the Basement,” the first song on their debut album. He struggled with the lyrics, repeatedly stopping and pacing the stage until he got them right. At some point, he lost his sunglasses and asked someone in the audience if they had a spare pair he could borrow.

But that all fits with the “looseness” that VB preaches in songs like “Punk Rock Loser”…

“I ain’t your average, normal dude
It sure ain’t glamorous, I keep things loose”

The show ended with a strong performance of the intense “Medicine for Horse,” where Murphy moved fluidly across the stage instead of his usual stomping. This was followed by the always-popular “Sports,” featuring its extended saxophone solo. He then played “Research Chemicals” and continued with the encore numbers “The Bog Body” and “Return to Monke.” Murphy finished by encouraging the audience to stay true to themselves, echoing the message from his song “Worms.”

“The same worms that eat me will someday eat you too.”

Oddly enough, at a Viagra Boys concert, that’s actually a comforting thought.

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2025-09-27 16:00