#shrimptech enterprises

[fletcher-honorama]

Ready to show up to some parties

[tremolocreative]

[theeverlastingshade]

A few weeks ago Viagra Boys released their latest EP, Common Sense, and it’s the most satisfying, and well-realized project that the band have released to date. The opening cut and title track is the real standout here, and the way that they build patiently but assuredly from a guitar/synth ballad into a gutting anthem with more force and emotional intensity than the vast majority of music that I’ve heard this year is completely unexpected, and utterly breathtaking. “Common Sense” is an intensely relatable internal assault that finds vocalist Sebastian Murphy taking himself to task over a list of preconceived shortcomings “Why don’t I remember the smart things that I read?/When I was young they told me to say out of my head/Make the wrong choices, yeah, and you’ll end up dead” as maracas and drums stir to life and saxophones continue to swell softly beneath him.

Murphy offers up more genuine vulnerability throughout the course of “Common Sense” than many bands manage in entire careers, and it’s a thrill to hear the music ignite with fervor courtesy of waves of rippling guitar distortion, string synths, the occasional harmony, and roaring saxophone arrangements. As “Common Sense" progresses, Murphy continues to take stock of his situation with a heightened sense of resolution, but he never comes any closer to hating himself any less. While the rest of the EP takes delight in the typical comedic character studies over funk-leaning post-punk, the title track moves beyond the sort of cheeky irreverence they’ve made their calling card and opts for something that cuts a little deeper. This is still Viagra Boys through and through, but they’re becoming harder and harder to box in, and Common Sense maintains that trajectory without the band seeming to break a sweat.

[fletcher-honorama]

Fuuuckkkk I'm getting hyperfixated on Viagra Boys

[united-interactive]

New product!