Viagra Boys - Cave World Review

Cave World Is perhaps Viagra Boys most diverse album, not as ferocious as we know of them, perhaps less aurally combative.

In recent years we've seen a resurgence of punk/post punk in the uk. In line with a growing frustration of the political landscape and what may seem a less than subtle attack on human rights, not too dissimilar to what was seen in the 1970’s. Music fans, it seems, were ready for a bit of angst, and a sound that speaks to their frustrations. Bands such as Idles, Black Country New Road and Black Midi to name a few have all released multiple records in a relatively small window, capitalising on a re-energised fan base. With crowds blossoming across the country capturing younger music fans, particularly those of a left leaning persuasion. Many fans of each band overlapping, celebrating each other and championing a growing community feel, and perhaps finally feeling heard. That little bit of optimism that they are not alone, and there are people there willing to shout loud a message they believe in.

Viagra Boys have ridden this wave almost as well as anyone. 

If you're familiar with their first two albums, Street Worms and Welfare Jazz, although with much cleaner production, Cave World is much as you would expect. High octane drum roll, rolling bass, saxophone blaring, and a guitar riff you'd find familiar somewhere in the back catalogue of The Clash, right from the start. The satire and self degradation that has been ever present throughout Viagra Boys records, as well the humorous parody portrayed by the singer Sebastian Murphy are all here again in Album 3.  As with their previous albums, the lyrics again are more intricate than you expect from a band like this. If this is something that you've enjoyed before then there is still plenty in the album for you.

The album itself, its themes described in short by Murphy as “The De-evolution of Man” starts with the song ‘Baby Criminal’. A song about no longer being able to excuse the illegal stuff you do because you're just a kid. Blending real life experiences of Murphy, recontextualised to fit one of the many farfetched yet actual stories we see each day on the news. From dealing drugs, to building a nuclear reactor in your bedroom after school. This tying together of current day personal and societal issues is consistent throughout the album.

We then have a short electronic interlude, supplied by producer’s friend DJ Hayden. One of three across the album, before ‘Troglodyte', a song about how much better apes would be dealing with extreme atrocities such as school shootings. Exploring where these problems may have stemmed and how far back can we go to find their origin. The plodding and hooky ‘The Cognitive Trade-Off Hypothesis’ sees Murphy describing this tipping point where monkeys left the trees and traded short term for long term memory. Developing the ability to plan, and therefore partake in the aforementioned atrocities, abandoning living in the moment.

‘Ain't No Thief’ is about people rightly assuming about you exactly who you are, and your denial of that in face of the facts. I think anyone watching British Politics in recent years will know exactly what this may be a reference to.

Listening to the lyrics in Cave World, it's absolutely an album of its time, specific mentions of microchips in the vaccines, obviously referencing a lot of the propaganda circulating throughout the covid-19 vaccine rollout. This though, perhaps in its specificity allows it a longevity, the extreme examples, pulled from the news could dissolve into caricatures of a future story, only time will tell. 

Cave World Is perhaps Viagra Boys most diverse album, not as ferocious as we know of them, perhaps less aurally combative. Songs like ‘Big Boy’ and ‘ADD’, the former featuring Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods on its exiting verse, offer some respite amongst the tumult. Allowing peaks and troughs throughout to pull focus where it needs to be whilst always retaining a level of fun and funny. 

Songs poking fun at a right wing mindset, the ridiculous messages that seep through the media, and the futile arguments that stem from these. Some songs are really very danceable, and see them carving their own niche into an already expansive field.