It's been a while since I did a Double Trouble feature and to mark its return, I decided to take a good look at two great post-punk sophomores that came out in January. Cue intro!
Today, irony stands as one of the most common and accepted forms of expression, especially after the rise of The Internet. Expectedly, this also applies for art and in the case of Viagra Boys's Welfare Jazz, post-punk. Granted, this is far from a novelty in a genre defined by rebellious swagger and self-awareness but there is much more to the Swedish quartet than what initially meets the eye. Comparatively, England's Shame took a more familiar attitude on their sophomore Drunk Pink Tank but they still do enough to clearly stand out. Both bands do but let's take a look at Welfare Jazz first.
Like on their debut, The Boys have a playful and infectious aura around them and its main source is the extremely charismatic vocalist Sebastian Murphy whose bellows and rants hearken back to days of old school rock and punk stars like Iggy Pop, Elvis Presley and Joe Strummer but simultaneously has the same "loner" and self-analytical attitude like Tom Waits or Nick Cave.
Murphy's key characteristic however, is his almost brutalist-like presentation, often times using animals (rise up shrimp gang) for metaphors and bizarre combination of not caring and showing genuine regret for his dickish behavior. Sometimes, like on "Toad", he does both of these things in extremely descriptive and funny fashion which makes the whole experience surprisingly immersive and personal. To the point that at times I felt like I was witnessing a scene from something like Blues Brothers, especially when the backing singers and bluesy licks come in.
And like Murphy's delivery, the instrumentation is diverse, ranging from synthy pop like on the outcast anthem "Creatures" to country like the loveably cheesy closer "In Spite Of Ourselves" which features Amy Taylor.
But even with all this, there are some constants like the wonderful bass work done by Henrick Höckert who takes the role as the main driving force for most of the songs. His contributions are accentuated with creative saxophone sections that never feel phoned in which I cannot say for a LOT of bands that started spamming it recently, I'm looking at you metal bands!
Interestingly, the guitar isn't that prevalent but still plays a key role in setting the tone, even in the instrumentals which are a few and who help with dissipating the monotony. Some, like the extremely groovy and noisy instrumental track "6 Shooter", ended up as my favorite tracks on the album.
Things drastically change when we look at the South Londoners' Drunk Pink Tank. As soon as "Alphabet" starts you're met with a lot of energy which only lets up on a few occasions. The record is defiant, angry but amidst the angst, there is a lot confusion and reflection that's very common in today's youth, myself included. The moody, almost gothic-like "Human, For A Minute" hits especially close with its parting lines. This maturity was already shown in their debut but here the quintet went even further by actively subverting rock 'n' roll tropes like the classic, reckless rock 'n' roll star by being rock 'n' roll and down to earth, if that makes sense. Most importantly, this is achieved with earnesty and avoids any kind of pandering which only adds to the charm and legitimacy of the record.
And like with Viagra Boys, the main force behind the band is the vocalist Charlie Steen but where Murphy shown regret or parodied himself and society he dislikes, Steen has a much more confrontational and rebellious presence, in many ways reminiscent of The Fall's Mark E. Smith or Joe Strummer who are undoubtedly a big influence on his delivery style. Instrumentation-wise, Shame do a lot of things and they do them well. Like the aforementioned "Human, For A Minute", the closer "Station Wagon" is a wonderful slab of moody goodness that ends the record on a very high and emotional note.
On the opposite side of the spectrum we have nimble, angular and catchy tracks like "Nigel Hitter" whose immediacy is infectious as well as very fun to listen to.
"Water In The Well" is another superb example of this dynamic but done in a more playful way by featuring the almighty cowbell and additional percussions which reminded me of Talking Heads which is never a bad thing.
My favorite track however, has to be "Born In Lutton" which combines both their angry and mellow side in the best way possible. Complete banger and amazing drumming by Charlie Forbes.
The whole record bangs actually, to the point that even after dozens of listens, I still come back to it and always leave satisfied. Sure there are some weaker tracks like "Harsh Degrees" but nothing that deters my enjoyment, so much so that at the time of writing, Drunk Pink Tank stands as my favorite album of 2021.
Don't think Welfare Jazz is a slouch though because it definitely isn't... okay maybe the word "slouch" isn't the one I am looking for, given that this exists hahaha.
Note how Murphy calmly sits and chills while the rest of the band goes ham. Anyway, this absurdity is what makes the Weiner Kings so special and relatable and even though they are influenced by a lot of "older" artists I don't listen to, they still make it genuinely entertaining and perfectly summarize modern society as a whole. That deadpan and cold Nordic humor, combined with an ensemble of musicians and great production warrants a good time, not to mention some seriously catchy songs like "Girls & Boys" as well as some soberingly introspective and sad tracks like the great "Into The Sun".
At the end of the day, what made me want to compare these records are not the differences in their generations or cultures but rather how they tackle the absurd state of modern society. Both offer multiple perspectives that are similar, one is confrontational and the other accepting but the way they express that is extremely interesting for me.
Viagra Boys use noise to drown out the lack of motivation and mask insecurities behind a veil of swagger but also throw jabs at that in a very honest fashion. In the end however, I feel they embrace the chaos while Shame open up more and directly address everything on their mind.
The results are two very interesting post-punk records that challenge the genre as well as themselves as people and to an extent, us as listeners if we wanna be pretentious. Whatever the case, I am pretty sure both will have a huge impact on the future of the genre and I cannot wait to see it!
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