Over the last few weeks I’ve warmed you up for something new and exciting and I’m happy to finally kick off this brand new series here today! During the entire month of June, I will share some special stories on the website. Stories that all revolve around albums I have a copy of in my record collection. However, it would be too easy to just pick out any album I like and write a story about it. Therefore, I gave this series a bit of a twist and did I take a bit of a random approach to choosing what records to highlight on the blog.

To decide what record to play, I am using a randomiser tool which is linked to my entire music collection. This tool picks out 1 record (at random!) from all the ones I own. Since my collection is pretty eclectic and varied, I could end up listening to obscure grunge, that long forgotten hip-hop record, or maybe even some old Dutch folk music. Who knows where fate will lead us! Afterwards, I will highlight my favourite song off of the designated album here on the blog. Via this random method, I will take both of us on a journey to rediscover some music I might’ve not listened to in years. Let’s start here, today, with the first episode of this Randomised Record series. We kick this month full of specials off with ‘Cave World‘ (2022) by Viagra Boys.

Today is a good day for randomising my record collection as my internet has decided to stop working. Since Spotify is off the cards and the only other alternative – wallowing in silence – doesn’t spark me with much joy either, we have to fall back on classic music measures: spinning some vinyl. Our first randomised record turns out to be a prime example of a purchase that I have probably only ever listened to once or twice. I’m a Viagra Boys enjoyer, but not a Viagra Boys lover. I’ve seen them live and they were good fun, but truth be told: I never understood why people were so extremely hyped about this band. That said, I do own 2 records by the Swedes. ‘Cave World’ is my latest VB-addition (August 2022) but other than singles ‘Ain’t No Thief’, ‘Troglodyte’, and ‘Punk Rock Bells’, no other songs are ringing any bells for me anymore. See if that changes after this spin.

Spoiler: it didn’t. At the time of writing this (right after listening to the record), I have even forgotten about most of the songs on ‘Cave World’ already. Most tracks on this album sound like, well… album tracks. It starts off pretty decent with ‘Baby Criminal’ and the aforementioned singles. However, after ‘Ain’t No Thief’ on side B, there’s not much more heading our way. Worth mentioning are songs ‘Big Boy’ and ‘ADD’, which both sound like they have been specifically crafted to please Sleaford Mods-fans (no surprise Jason Williamson features on ‘Big Boy’). If anything, those tunes feel a bit dull after the few powerful songs we had. It doesn’t take long for me to understand why I haven’t played this record all too often and playing it now won’t excite me much to play it again. Not many highlights, not many standouts. ‘Troglodyte’ does become the 2nd song off of ‘Cave World’ to make it into the playlist, but I doubt a third addition is in the offing.