Cave World - Viagra Boys: Review
are a Swedish post-punk band who first emerged about 5 years ago with a unique, funny post-punk sound. Despite how different they sound from some of their contemporaries within the genre they have been cited as one of many recently emerging bands under the "post-brexit core" sound of post-punk. Cave World follows last years critically acclaimed sophomore album Welfare Jazz.
Review by Lav:
Even though there are some absolutely great songs on the first two Viagra Boys records like Creatures and Sports I wasn't really head over heels for their first two albums. So when I enjoyed the singles going into this record quite a bit I was still hesitant overall going into it. Turns out I should have given the band a little more credit because they've not only pushed their sound into a heavier and catchier direction but also delivered on their most conceptual and consistent project yet. Everything about Cave World is Viagra Boys at their best yet.
Let's talk singles because they're just as good as always. Turning up first on the record is Troglodyte still probably my favorite of the bunch. The song compares a bunch of regressive and stupid political ideologies to being troglodytes in a world of apes. Not only does it help set up the records consistent theme of humanity having never really evolved past being apes but also has a funny take on that dynamic in the modern day. Even beyond that it is absolutely hilarious and comes paired with a feverishly exciting instrumental.
Punk Rock Loser is the next song on the album and served as the third single. Despite being one of the more sonically reserved songs here it has as much personality as anything else and is genuinely one of the funniest songs here. The portrayal of the titular character who definitely isn't a "punk rock loser" is hilarious and the winding electronic bridge serves as the perfect set-up for the song's awesome finale. Ain't No Thief is another very funny single detailing somebody's obvious denial about being a thief with the charming line "we just happen to have the same stuff". I love the tight drum lines backing the really specific explanations and hoop jumping used to justify everything on the track it's just all so much fun.
The highlights don't stop there either as the record opens and closes with great songs. Its first track Baby Criminal is a bouncy and incredibly infectious start with core themes like satirical excess, infectious grooves and snarled lead vocals which would go on to appear again and again across the album. One of the real gems among the deep cuts is the closing track Return To Monke whose length and title should be big enough signs of finality on their own. The track absolutely lives up to that promise when all is said and done not only is it one of the craziest and hardest rocking tracks on the entire record but it somehow engenders a deep feeling of monke in me when I listen to it.
If you like weird songs then Creepy Crawlers might be your SOTY. The track focuses on vaccination hesitancy, more specifically that microchips containing creepy crawlies are being put in vaccines. It's one of the grimier songs here sonically as Sebastian just croons out these paranoid refrains about what's happening to "kids" who are or aren't being vaccinated. It's so absurd that it just becomes pure hilarity and the driving dark instrumental is icing on the cake.
ADD is one of the most electronic songs on the record and while I think the band does conjure up a decently bouncy beat I don't really find it quite as exciting as a lot of the other instrumentals. In fact everything about the song is fine but just not quite as exciting as the rest of the record. The only real complaint I have about the album is the singing on a pair of hooks but even then they're a part of otherwise good songs. The Cognitive Trade-Off Hypothesis is a funny and thematically excellent point on the album discussing the moment where humans came down from the trees and learned how to speak. In spite of its lyrical sharpness I will say it has my least favorite chorus on the album mainly due to the particularly shrill way it's sung. I feel similarly about Big Boy another solid song with a hard-hitting electronic beat and Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson doing a rambling feature to close it out. It's hard for me to call the song a miss but the lack of an engaging hook does certainly hinder it.
This record isn't perfect but releasing a perfect record almost wouldn't seem right for Viagra Boys. Their brand of sloppy post-punk with an old school punk rock attitude and hilarious satirical song topics is all over the place in a way that makes listening through to Cave World a jittery and engaging journey. While not every strange vocal experiment connected with me and not every song contributed perfectly to the over all themes of the record, enough did to make this an extremely enjoyable listen that feels like long-awaited confirmation that Viagra Boys are just as witty and adventurous of a band as they've always seemed. 8/10
Album Cover Review by Tyler Judson:
I really love the quality of illustration in this cover and the colors that are used. This cover makes you want to look at it, filling the entire space with interest without making it overcrowded. The subject matter makes you stay and look for longer because you're trying to figure out the puzzle and that will generate attention towards the music. Overall I'm really happy with this cover and just think a stricter logo could have been added. 8/10
For more punk check out my review of PUP's THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND here
