Stockholm’s Viagra Boys have revealed plans for their second full length: it’s excellently titled Welfare Jazz and is coming out on January 8 through YEAR001. Iconic singer Seb Murphy reveals:
“I’m not good at talking about politics, but everything is political when it comes down to it. 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 realise 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.”
That realisation of asshole-ness is on full display in lead single “Ain’t Nice”, which picks up where Viagra Boys left off with their skronking post-punk style. Add into it some more sonic ingenuity, with plenty of atmospheric twists, electronic blips and emphatic gusts of sound, and the track quickly takes its place as another of their signature tunes. Once again they turn an unlovable outcast into a scummy hero, and make us feel like we want to do nothing more than get dirty with them.
Viagra Boys’ Welfare Jazz arrives on January 8 through YEAR001. You can find them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
They’ve also got these tour dates planned (tickets here):
MAY 19 – DE – Leipzig – Conne Island
MAY 20 – PL – Warsaw – Praga Centrum
MAY 21 – AT – Vienna – Flex
MAY 22 – CZ – Prague – Meet Factory
MAY 23 – DE – Munich – Technikum
MAY 24 – DE – Berlin – Festsaal Kreuzberg
MAY 25 – DE – Hamburg – Uebel & Gefährlich
MAY 27 – FR – Paris – Trabdeno
MAY 28 – NL – Amsterdam – Paradiso
MAY 29 – BE – Antwerp – Trix
MAY 30 – DE – Cologne – Kantine
JUN 01 – UK – Brighton – Concorde2
JUN 02 – UK – Newcastle – NUSU Basement
JUN 03 – UK – Glasgow – Queen Marget Union
JUN 04 – UK – London – The Forum
JUN 05 – UK – Liverpool – Invisible Wind Factory
JUN 06 – IE – Dublin – 02 Academy
JUN 08 – UK – Manchester – The Ritz
JUN 09 – UK – Birmingham – The Mill
JUN 10 – UK – Bristol – SXW
NOV 23 – FR – Lille – L´Aeroonef
NOV 24 – FR – Strasbourg – La Laiterie
NOV 25 – FR – Lyon – Transbordeur
NOV 28 – IT – Bologna – Freak Out
NOV 30 – IT – Roma – Teatro Centrale
DEC 01 – IT – Milano – Magazzine Generali
