Viagra Boys – Punk Rock Loser

10th December 2024 · 2020s, 2022, Music, Postpunk

I was always put off listening to Viagra Boys because of their terrible band name. Which turns out to have been my loss.

I assumed they were some sort of comedy group, and in a way they are – but only in the sense that they’re subversively satirical, their songs sending up toxic masculinity and far-right conspiracy theories.

Musically, they are dedicated to just the sort of thing I like – noisy chaos – if not so much on this track, which tones down their usual hard rock grooves, discordant guitar and sax, and howling vocals.

Lyrically, though, it’s entirely representative of a band whose subject matter deals with drugs, anger and the evils of male privilege with a sharp wit, as can be seen in this Western-themed video – and the song’s lyrics:

“I ain’t your average normal dude
It sure ain’t glamorous, I keep things loose
I ain’t your average punk rock loser
Yeah, I’m a savage, I’m really cool”

Viagra Boys were formed in Stockholm in 2015 by two tattoo artists, Henrik Höckert and San Francisco-born singer Sebastian Murphy (bass).

Punk Rock Loser, comes from their third album Cave World, released in 2022.