Artist : Viagra Boys Album : Viagr Aboys Label : Shrimptech Enterprises Link : https://www.vboysstockholm.com/ Style : Rock, Punk
Viagr Aboys, the Viagra Boys’ fourth album, shows that they are still at home in energetic punk rock, but that they also know how to explore more complex music to leer towards other musical horizons and renew interest.
The Viagra Boys are a Swedish band whose formation, in 2015, followed a karaoke party that took place in the tattoo parlor employing its two founders. Of the band members, singer Sebastian Murphy is the only one not born in Sweden, but with a Swedish mother, he is perfectly bilingual. After two EPs, the band released a debut album in 2018. It was well received by critics in both Sweden and the UK. The third album wins a Swedish Grammy, and in 2023, the musicians support Queens Of The Stone Age on their 15-date tour.
Their music is fully rooted in punk, and Viagr Aboys is strongly inspired by garage rock or proto-punk, always with an almost second-degree dose of off-beatness reminiscent to some extent of Devo’s approach, to which acerbic lyrics add a form of self-mockery. In addition to rhythm and guitar, the wind instruments stand out, including a saxophone that repeatedly takes a prominent place in the accompaniment, when the compositions stray from the canons of the punk-rock genre.
Perfectly in keeping with the style and image of the band’s live performances, the production of this record cultivates a haphazard, disheveled sound that may initially confuse the audiophile. However, parallels can be drawn with free jazz and avant-garde music. What’s more, while the compositions are abundant, the recording is far from muddled and doesn’t rely solely on energy, as is all too often the case in this musical style. Its clarity makes it possible to appreciate the tonalities of each instrument, as much as Sebastian Murphy’s slightly hoarse voice, which becomes softer on the last track.
Artist: Model/Actriz Album: Pirouette Label: Dirty Hit Link: https://www.modelactriz.com/ Style: Rock, Hard Rock
To describe the second album of Model/Actriz Pirouette as noise would be too simplistic. Energetic and tense, it ranges from pop to industrial metal, yet manages to remain both approachable and atypical.
This Boston-based band was formed by drummer Ruben Radlauer and guitarist Jack Wetmore. Both have known each other since childhood, their fathers even playing music together a few years earlier. Impressed by a performance by singer Cole Haden, the two men recruited him for the band, before adding bassist Aaron Shapiro. Their concerts earned them a good reputation, but with the confinement, their first album, recorded in 2021, was not released until 2023, although it was well received by critics on Pitchfork and Bandcamp.
While their musical style links them to the noise and punk movements, there are also components borrowed from metal. As a result, the tracks as a whole present a certain radicalism, but never as extreme as those of other famous bands in the aforementioned styles. Far removed from the sometimes violent archetypes, the tracks retain their interest without being too accessible either; they seek to integrate a danceable or electronic dimension and sometimes approach the industrial, recalling tracks by Nine Inch Nails or Marylin Manson. Placed at n°5, the short track “Headlights” acts as an articulation towards a calmer part.
Far from taking saturation as their central model, as other noise bands do, Model/Actriz seem to distance themselves from it. On the contrary, what immediately catches the ear is the metallic sound of the guitar, echoing the synthesizer, which resembles a vibraphone whose bars have been swapped for huge metal ones. The frenetic rhythm is distantly reminiscent of the 80s, but shines through in its tension and dryness. In the midst of this pounding, the vocals take on almost disconcerting pop accents, adding to the ambivalence of the moods created by listening to this atypical rock.
Artist : Ezra Furman Album : Goodbye Small Head Label : Bella Union Link : https://ezrafurman.com/ Style : Pop/Rock, Rock, Alternatif & Indie
After igniting the Sex Education soundtrack over four seasons, Erza Furman returns with Goodbye Small Head, a tenth pop rock album full of emotion and confessed fragility.
Chicago-born Erza Furman came out of the closet four years ago, and in the space of a dozen albums, initially with the band The Harpoons, she has become an important figure in the queer community. This success stems in part from the themes addressed in her songs, around questions of identity, and the impact that mental disorders on people she may have encounter in her family, but also quite simply from the quality of her compositions. She has gained even greater notoriety since composing the soundtrack for the aforementioned Netflix series.
Erza Furman’s records combine the energy of her early punk days with a lyricism driven by string arrangements, that lend a warm flamboyance and extra intensity to her songs. Her voice, sometimes androgynous, sometimes rougher, is always full of emotion, reminiscent of PJ Harvey or Brett Anderson from Suede’s early days. The compositions are personal and varied, and show great inspiration throughout. They know how to maintain interest for the attentive listener, while keeping a unity that never confuses when changing tracks.
Erza Furman doesn’t seem to ask herself any questions when crafting her songs. Violins can be played alongside or after samples or drum machines, without fear of appearing overdone. The only thing that counts is the expression of emotion; far from formatted compositions, it’s easy to take pleasure in letting yourself be carried into the artist’s world. If, on the other hand, you choose to concentrate, you’ll be just as delighted by the sonic discoveries that give these tracks their distinctive character.
