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Jan 7, 2021The sound on Welfare Jazz may be more of the same glam-phetamine trash disko bomp that made the first record so distinctive – a ramshackle wad of low-end guitars that spit and burn like chip pan fires and boisterous oft intoxicated vocals with a surplus of undulating sax – but there’s something else that’s been added to their arsenal, something that was hiding in plain sight all along. The protagonist of these songs may not be all that apologetic as he pontificates of his transgressions, but he is at least man enough to put his grubby hands up and forewarn friends and lovers that he’s a little damaged. It’s a good start.
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Jan 8, 2021Welfare Jazz is a major progression for a band that has already been blowing minds with a sound unlike anything else out there, not to mention truly brilliant music videos. Their serrated and offbeat approach to rock and roll balances dark humor and unexpected thrills with the kind of dangerous edge that is sadly missing from most music these days. As one of the first album releases of the year, the Viagra Boys have set the bar high.
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Jan 11, 2021By deconstructing these narratives and putting the listener in the midst of these drug-addled tales of street life Viagra Boys construct a thematically rich follow up to their debut, accompanied by a frenzied post-punk concoction that becomes more rewarding with every listen.
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Jan 8, 2021Viagra Boys have a deep well of emotional intelligence hidden underneath their aggressively ignorant façade.
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Jan 7, 2021These are powerful, thoughtful songs that stand up to hours of repeated listening, and always raise a smile in the process.
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Jan 7, 2021There’s a lot to unpack, but Welfare Jazz is a smart and rousing listen.
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UncutJan 6, 2021Welfare Jazz ratchets up the pizzazz. [Feb 2021, p.37]
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Jan 6, 2021While still lighthearted and filled with humour, it's a massive shift from previous releases, both musically and lyrically, with plenty of hints of more to come.
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Jan 6, 2021‘Welfare Jazz’ sees them sidestep any so-called second album slump. There’s no huge reinvention of sound – except for some country-ish sounds, typified by the Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn-style call-and-answer ‘In Spite Of Ourselves’, a punk hoedown with Amyl and the Sniffers‘ Amy Taylor – but a definite reinvention of mindset.
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Jan 8, 2021Viagra Boys have successfully captured a side of the working class that demands empathy, and it’s their strongest statement to date.
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Jan 6, 2021There will be no sophomore slump for Viagra Boys. At its best, Welfare Jazz represents an evolutionary step from Street Worms that’s tighter, tougher, and more riotous than what came before. That same evolution even lifts the record’s missteps. There are failures, but at least they’re interesting failures.
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Jan 12, 2021Viagra Boys have a gift for making listeners wrestle with choices that might be deal breakers if the music weren’t all so ludicrously entertaining.
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Jan 12, 2021Some experiments don’t add much to the listening experience, but don’t detract either. The story telling is very up front, yet the confidence and attitude never passes into obnoxious, parody of oneself territory. As a result, Welfare Jazz remains a tight effort that hopefully acts as a transition to a richer sonic canvas.
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Jan 6, 2021Come LP3, maybe they’ll reinvent themselves as a more wholesome proposition; for now, ‘Welfare Jazz’ stands as a document of a band that are perhaps more in limbo than they might first appear.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 29
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Mixed: 4 out of 29
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Negative: 1 out of 29
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Jan 22, 2021
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Jan 8, 2021an experience within itself, in your face clarity mixed with distorted honesty and emotion
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Feb 17, 2021