Viagra Boys reveal details of their ‘emotional’ new material at Reading 2026

Viagra Boys have reflected on the success of their 2025 breakthrough album ‘Viagr Aboys’ and opened up about new material.

The Swedish punk six-piece were speaking to NME backstage at Reading Festival, where they performed on the Gallery Stage.

Asked if they knew how special ‘Viagr Aboys’ was during its production, frontman Sebastian Murphy joked that he has “too much self-loathing” for that.

Keyboard player Elias Jungqvist chimed in: “I think that day, when we feel that feeling, it’s time to quit.”

“I was surprised that people liked it so much, actually,” added guitarist Linus Hillborg.

The band co-produced the album with Pelle Gunnerfeldt of Swedish rock band Fireside. It’s their first official self-production credit on a Viagra Boys record.

Murphy explained of this dynamic: “It’s always good to have an outside perspective – and then sometimes it isn’t, so it’s a balance. It’s about the right people to work with, as well. But we kind of get an outside perspective because there’s so many of us. If one person has one idea, then another person might hate it – and I think that’s healthy, to have a lot of different ideas about what’s good and what’s not.”

‘Viagr Aboys’ was written and recorded in Shrimptech Enterprises, the band’s headquarters in a former cement factory in Stockholm. This was the first time they’d recorded an album in their own space.

“It’s gonna be demolished,” Murphy explained. “Hopefully they let us know before they demolish it.”

Asked how having their own space affected the band’s creative process, Jungqvist replied: “When we made ‘Viagr Aboys’, we made the time to explore, to try the riffs and the songs and a lot of different forms and shapes and keys and stuff like that. So that was a big difference from before. And we’re gonna continue from the same space.”

The band also revealed details about new material that they’re currently working on.

“We’re always writing down ideas,” said Murphy. “We’ve been writing for the past year in the studio, just recording demos and riffs. We’ve got two more shows of this tour, and then we’re gonna go live in the studio.”

Murphy said that it’s hard to pinpoint the style of the new material, though Jungqvist promised that it’s “eclectic”.

“Eclectic rock’n’roll,” agreed Murphy. “We’ll see. Whatever it sounds like right now, it probably won’t sound like later, so it’s hard to say. It’s too early to say.”

“I realised we have one red thread through the new album,” Jungqvist added, before alluding to bassist Henrik ‘Benke’ Höckert, who skipped the interview because he was watching the Liverpool FC/Nottingham Forest football match on his phone. “[He] was screaming yesterday about: “Emotions! I think it’s the only way. Emotions!”

“He’s just now finding out about emotions,” explained Murphy.

Reading 2026 continues today with performances from Holly Humberstone, Westside Cowboy, Loyle Carner, Violet Grohl, Florence + the Machine and Kneecap – plus a secret set from Lola Young.

Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2026.