Viagra Boys - Welfare Jazz Review

ROLLING IN MUCK AT THE ROWDY PIG PEN

With a name like Viagra Boys, intentions are made abundantly clear: This is not a band to be taken seriously. At least in terms of riveting, lyrical content. Beyond that, we find Welfare Jazz somewhere in-between U.K.'s modern Art Punk revival and Frank Zappa. Festering anxiousness offset by off-kilter modes of disorientation, willing and able to incorporate discordant genres just for the sake of it. This, for those not in the know, something well-documented in the Punk scene. I mean, Dance-Punk, Punk Blues, Synth-Punk, even Cowpunk already exist. And all of them, perfectly apt descriptions of Welfare Jazz's fatuous aberrance.

Let's start with that last one; Cowpunk. What a fascinating, yet totally obtuse genre title. By track eleven, expectations from Viagra Boys are in place. Sure, redneck delirium emerges on interludes 'This Old Dog' and 'Best In Show II,' but they're just that; brief and frivolous. In comes 'To The Country' and 'In Spite Of Ourselves,' dare I say the album's two best tracks? Perhaps it's the brazen juxtaposition talking, but the patchwork Western duo revitalize a dampening LP whose modest humor never reaches expectation. These two are ludicrous, especially 'In Spite Of Ourselves,' with Amy Taylor of Amyl & The Sniffers fame. On it, the two singers perform a raunchy duet of hillbilly love at the square dancing jamboree. It is hilariously trashy - on purpose, of course - made all the more confounding by engrossing Synth-Punk production that's both wacky and thunderous.

While these two are the most out-there of Welfare Jazz's cuts, some stock Post-Punk efforts, like 'Ain't Nice' and 'I Feel Alive,' warrant praise as well. The former, an energetic romp kicking the LP into high gear, bears resemblance to Liars' most taxing singles from the Mess era, while the latter mocks Tropical Fuck Storm's despair with swinging guitar riffs, guttural vocals, and tired military percussion. Oh, and woodwinds too, because why not? Despite the general lunacy and relative daringness, there aren't any irredeemable tracks left, though 'Into The Sun' and 'Secret Canine Agent' don't really make a mark. For something as abominable as Welfare Jazz, one would expect more disasters. And, I suppose, some may look towards 'To The Country' and 'In Spite Of Ourselves' for that answer. Admittedly, they aren't for everyone. But if you can muster the garish perversions, Viagra Boys' sophomore record will satisfy through a smattering of smirks.