It’s a sweltering 88 degrees Fahrenheit in Sweden where Viagra Boys’ Sebastian Murphy is sitting shirtless, in his underwear, hunched over a computer screen. Equal parts Darby Crash and Townes Van Zandt in looks, and covered head to toe in tattoos, he wipes his forehead: “It’s hot as fuck here and I’m dying,” he utters. He’s just getting over a sickness—one of the many joys of touring—after traveling halfway across the world. “We’ve been in super tour mode for the past three months and I just want to live a normal life for a month,” he chimes in while rolling what looks to be a tobacco cigarette.
Right now, he’s getting a month-long break before he hops on a plane and does it all over again—this time to promote the upcoming Cave World LP, the follow-up to 2021’s Welfare Jazz. Full of vicious satire recited over a sweet melding of freak jazz, post-punk, and noise, the new album could not have come at a better time. We’re getting over one of the most difficult global eras in recent memory, but also, in Murphy’s eyes, some of us are regressing back to our troglodytic beginnings as a species. Both physically and mentally sick of what’s going on in the world, Murphy was moved to create Cave World, an album that touches on batshit conspiracy theories like QAnon in addition to blatant racism, homophobia, and more general lunacy breeding under the Earth’s soil.
We had a chance to speak with him about the thematic impetus behind the album, his love of the country-western aesthetic, and potentially bringing back post-hot-sauce-shot freestyles.
Where did Cave World’s idea of us all kind of going back to the primitive age of mankind come from?
It came from just a general disdain for what’s going on in the world today. With this whole pandemic, you got to see a lot of these crazy ideas that people have about what’s going on in the world. The world’s been pretty polarized as of late anyway, but it just got so much clearer that everyone’s on completely different sides of the spectrums. Some people think that the whole world is a conspiracy against them, and some don’t think that, and are hated by the others—like maskers versus non-maskers—and just all this shit seems kind of ridiculous and backwards. I was just kind of sickened by everything.
Did you start to take notice of this more during lockdowns and everything?
Yeah, I think so. I was also watching a lot of documentaries, and I was thinking a lot about evolution in general and just the plight of the human race, and how we’ve been affecting the world. And then it kind of came from this feeling of hopelessness—that feeling of knowing we’re fucked. Just by seeing what’s going on in the news. I just have this general feeling that we’re gonna destroy ourselves.
“With this whole pandemic, you got to see a lot of these crazy ideas that people have about what’s going on in the world.”
There’s that kind of interlude song “Creepy Crawlers” where you take on the persona of a bunch of different people with wild theories about kids growing tails and being farmed for adrenochrome. As I started to think about it, I found it terrifying because there are people perpetuating these myths.
Yeah, they believe this kind of shit. Because I think the truth isn’t complicated enough for these people. I kind of get why people think this way—because they want to have a good reason for why things are happening in the world, when in fact there aren’t really any good reasons except for, you know, like this sickness, it just came. It came and the world is cruel and unforgiving. That’s it. And some people just can’t take that. It’s so simple, so much so that they have to have all these elaborate ideas of why things are the way they are.
Are you ever afraid of people not taking what you’re doing as satire?
I have thought about that for sure, but I’m not really afraid of it. I think it would be funny, and I’d almost encourage it. Reagan was using “Born in the USA” for his campaign when it’s an anti–Vietnam War song. I find that stuff kind of funny. When people do that, it’s kind of like shooting themselves in the foot. So yeah, go for it.
The music video for “Punk Rock Loser” is one of my favorites of the year. That country-western theme was definitely present on Welfare Jazz, and I know you’re a huge Waylon Jennings fan, but where did the idea come from?
I gotta give credit to the director [SNASK] for coming up with the idea. My original idea was going to be me in a limousine in Romania, driving around and saying “What’s up?” to people and thinking that everyone thought I was this huge rockstar when in reality I wasn’t and no one recognized me and gave me dirty looks. But I think we weren’t able to do it in that short amount of time and they came up with this cowboy town idea. And I loved it, of course, because I just love the cowboy-macho-man, dusty-outlaw aesthetic. And it was kind of the same idea; that I think I’m this hot shit, super cool dude, but no one else really does.
And it’s a funny song, but also quite self-deprecating when you really listen. Is it from personal experience or just sort of seeing how people act in clubs and bars?
I think it’s both, in a way, because there’s been periods in my life where I’m either really high or drunk, and I think that I’m the coolest motherfucker on Earth. It was kind of looking back at that period in my life and searching for that feeling that you get after drinking a few beers. You think you’re the shit, when in fact, you probably are not. And no one really gives a shit.
“When I wrote this album, I’m like, ‘Oh fuck, there’s all these idea and they’re all connected.’ And that’s just because my brain only has space for three or four subjects at a time.”
Is the music usually written before you tackle lyrics? Like does a super-fast beat inspire the point behind a song?
Yeah, I kind of write them in a short period of time, which I think has been effective for me because I change what I’m interested in pretty quickly. And I think it’s good if I write it in a short period of time. In Swedish you say “red thread,” but it’s like something that connects everything, and gives it that theme. It’s usually subconscious. Like when I wrote this album, too, I’m like, “Oh fuck, there’s all these idea and they’re all connected.” And that’s just because my brain only has space for three or four subjects at a time. So once I get one or two songs going it usually comes pretty quickly and naturally.
When you’re writing the lyrics, do you have to sort of snap yourself back into those themes, or is it something you’re constantly thinking about?
When I’m writing a song it’s always on paper, and then I think I start drawing a lot on those pieces of paper, just trying to start building a world in a sense. That kind of makes it easier to get into a new theme. Like with this one I wrote “Who is the true ape?” and it sparked the whole idea.
Do you find you have to remember those feelings when you’re playing the songs live?
Not really. It’s mostly memorizing and thinking, “How do I do this the best way live?”
But your stage presence is pretty wild. You’re pouring beer on yourself and running around, sweating with no shirt on.
Yeah, it’s kind of self-deprecating in a way. And I think it’s mostly because when I was younger, I probably watched too many, like, ’70s punk movies like The Decline of Western Civilization and saw The Germs play and watched people kind of cutting themselves on stage or, you know, stapling bologna to their tits or whatever. I’ve always liked that kind of just pure chaos.
“When I was younger, I probably watched too many, like, ’70s punk movies and watched people kind of cutting themselves on stage or, you know, stapling bologna to their tits or whatever. I’ve always liked that kind of just pure chaos.”
Kind of like watching GG Allin?
Yeah, I love that shit—you know, even though I don’t want to be GG Allin [laughs]. But I still love that kind of extreme performance type of thing. Even though I’m not really that extreme on stage. I don’t do anything crazy. I just kind of crawl around and puke and pour shit on myself. But that’s about it. There’s no, like, jumping around or hitting myself with anything. I’m too lazy.
I read in an old interview that you used to do shots of hot sauce and then freestyle rap?
Yeah, that was when I was, like, sober for a little while as a teenager, and I hung out with some other dudes that were sober and we would just do as much crazy shit as possible without taking any drugs. So we were drinking, like, 500 energy drinks and shit, and would just be hopped up on that all the time. I wouldn’t even call it being sober [laughs]. But that hot sauce thing was my buddy’s idea. He was a super good freestyle rapper. And like, he made all sorts of scenarios and he’d make punks rap all sorts of shit. I forgot about that. I should probably do that again. FL
