amyl and the sniffers Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Amyl and the Sniffers “Cartoon Darkness”

sfilzen — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 19:40:47 +0000

Amyl and the Sniffers “Cartoon Darkness” 2024. Limited edition “Scared of the Darkness” glow-in-the-dark vinyl. I needed some angry, snotty, funny modern punk today. Cartoon Darkness is the band’s third studio LP. It’s been nominated for the J Awards’ Australian Album of the Year and went to #2 in Australia, #9 in the UK (it barely squeaked into the top 200 in the US). We’ve seen Amyl perform a few times and will be seeing them again in May 2025; based on their latest release it’s going to be total ripper (as always). I have a lot of favorites on Cartoon Darkness. The opener “Jerkin'” is balls-to-wall rock, its lyrics nasty AF – dumb but hilarious: “You’re a dumb c**t, you’re an asshole. Everytime you talk you mumble, grumble. Need to wipe your mouth after you speak cuz it’s an asshole. Bum hole, dumb c**t. You are ugly all day, I am hot always…” you get the idea. You’ll have to go to Amyl’s website to see the original X-rated video and confirm you’re over 18 to watch it and read a content warning (it’s fine, just natural body parts in all their glory). “Motorbike Song” is another rocker with easy to understand lyrical metaphors (“Can you be the bike, can you be the f**k. I wanna feel like the moty-b going down the highway, going over speed). “Doing in Me Head” has a killer buzzy guitar hook and “Pigs” is a classic punk/speed metal thrasher. Amyl and the Sniffers do occasionally slow down on Cartoon Darkness – “Big Dreams” reminds me of 90’s girl-grunge (ie Hole in particular) and they even get prettily funky on “Bailing on Me.” And while the final track “Me and the Girls” is not in my top musically (the electronic effects are a bit disconcerting), I love its female-forward, f**k off message – plus an infectious beat.

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Amyl and the Sniffers “U Should Not Be Doing That”

sfilzen — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 18:28:25 +0000

Amyl and the Sniffers “U Should Not Be Doing That” 2024. B2B Records, limited edition 7″ single. The latest single Amyl & the Sniffers (their first release since 2021!) adds a hefty dose of funk to their punk. It’s basically a fuck-you from singer Amy Taylor to the naysayers criticizing her look and performance (I’ve seen Amyl play several times: the band works their asses off and Amy can dress and dance however she pleases). Taylor says about the track: “[It’s] poking fun at the shock that people still feel at a little bit of skimpy clothing, and the bitchy high school way that the music community still is (yes I’m talking to you random 40 year old metalheads sitting around a table doing lines and bitching about a 28 year old chick in a band for wearing shorts and ‘selling out’)…” The video has Taylor engaged in a dance-off with actor Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul) through the gritty streets of Los Angeles. It’s hilarious (and a draw). Side B has the track “Facts” which is a bit more true-to-form Sniffers: more thunderous, head-banging garage punk than funk with a great anthemic chorus.

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Amyl and the Sniffers “Comfort to Me”

sfilzen — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 22:43:18 +0000

Amyl and the Sniffers “Comfort to Me” 2021. Limited edition colored vinyl, ATO Records. Released just a couple of days ago (September 10th), Australia’s Amyl and the Sniffers second LP is my most anticipated release of the year and it definitely does not disappoint. They are, hands-down, the BEST new punk group around. We were supposed to see them in May of 2020 (cancelled), then again in October (cancelled). Thankfully we got to see them back in July of 2019 in a super-small local club and it was pure awesome insanity.

Comfort to Me is hard, fast, balls-to-the-wall fury, full of snarl and speed-metal shredding. I can feel the sweat and swirl of the pit even as I sit alone at my computer. My top tracks are “Freaks to the Front” (I’m already anticipating the call-to-arms at the next Amyl show we go to), the angriest song about road tripping ever: “Hertz,” “Capital” (some serious Motorhead vibes on this one), the 200mph “Don’t Need a Cunt (Like You to Love Me)” and “Laughing.”

I’m not sure if all of the vinyl editions include it, but our gatefold limited edition release includes a 16-page “CTM Zine” full of notes, band photos, and an…interesting self-portrait by singer Amy Taylor. There’s even a couple of recipes, like one for Rock n Roll/Bachelor “Spag Bol” (spaghetti for one…Eat until ya munt ya dirty dog).

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Amyl and the Sniffers “Live at the Croxton”

sfilzen — Wed, 20 May 2020 19:05:42 +0000

Amyl and the Sniffers “Live at the Croxton” 2020. ATO Records. 3-song 7″ recorded at The Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne, Australia on August 30th, 2019 by one of the most exciting new punk bands around. We saw Amyl and the Sniffers perform these three tracks from their 2019 s/t LP – “Control,” “Gacked on Anger,” and “Shake Ya” – a month earlier in late July 2019 at the Cactus Club in Milwaukee. I still can’t believe they played such a small club in our neighborhood (they are TOTAL rock stars; I think their glorious mullets might even have their own fan pages) – I have no idea what the capacity of Melbourne’s Croxton is but I’m guessing it’s a few hundred more at minimum than the Cactus Club’s and there certainly were zero beefy security guys up front, just my tiny friend Claire and her buddies using their bodies as shields from the whirling pit of bodies moshing and stage diving behind and over them. The Sniffers’ live shows are out of control – I haven’t experienced energy like that at a punk show since the 80′s – and I can’t wait to see them again. They were supposed to play earlier this month but of course, like everything, it was cancelled. We’ve got tickets to see them in Chicago in October (I think) and I’m hoping hoping hoping this show happens.

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Amyl and the Sniffers “Big Attraction” and “Giddy Up”

sfilzen — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 22:30:22 +0000

Amyl and the Sniffers “Big Attraction” and “Giddy Up” 2018. Damaged Goods Records. A comp LP of the Australian punks first two EP’s from 2016 and 2017 (both self-released). Raucous, punchy, FUN punk in the spirit of The Ramones, Sex Pistols, mixed with a loud hard edge (they’re influenced by AC/DC, of course). We saw Amyl and the Sniffers play in July and it ranks as one of the best shows – and definitely the best punk show – we’ve seen in years. Side A has Big Attraction (2017) and my favorite track is the riotous “Balaclava Lover Boogie” which is also hilarious; I’m pretty sure the chorus goes “Balaclava with my llama, balaclava lover boogie!” but they are Australian so it is very likely I’m not hearing it quite right (back in the early 80′s I thought AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds” went like this: “dirty jeans, they’re dungarees” so clearly I’m not to be trusted). Also great are “I’m Not a Loser,” “Mole (Sniff Sniff)” and “Westgate” so basically the whole EP because there are only six songs. Side B is Giddy Up (2016) with just four tracks: “Pleasure Forever” (such a great classic 70′s punk sound), “Caltex Cowgirl” (a startling slow track that is almost melodic but not quite), “Mandalay” (super-raw) and “Stole My Pushbike” (and she’s pissed, she wants it back!). Apparently they wrote, recorded and released Giddy Up in a mere 12 hours.

The comp ended up going to #8 on the UK vinyl charts in 2018; they signed with Rough Trade soon after (I think we may have picked up this record at Rough Trade in London this past summer).

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Amyl and the Sniffers “Amyl and the Sniffers”

sfilzen — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 16:53:54 +0000

Amyl and the Sniffers “Amyl and the Sniffers” 2019, limited edition colored vinyl (it looks like a cracked egg). We picked up this copy of the Aussie punks debut LP last week at the Amyl and the Sniffers’ sold-out show at Cactus Club in Milwaukee – one of the best punk records and definitely the best punk show we’ve been to in a very, very long time. Loud, fast, heavy, ridiculously high energy, mosh pit, stage diving, people swinging from the rafters, beer and water spraying everywhere. Mass mayhem, pure bliss! Also great: each band member sports an epic mullet, singer Amy Taylor’s the best of the bunch: a mix of Cherie Currie blonde feathers and Chrissy Hynde rock-n-roll shag. We missed the first opening band, Rexxx, but caught the second, the local punk band law/less, who were also great: hardcore in the 80′s style and also led by a woman (whose name I don’t know – the band doesn’t have any media presence besides a Bandcamp page). During the law/less set, Amy from the Sniffers was out in the audience dancing along next to me. That white-ish bit on her head that looks like a crown is, in fact, her amazingly flipped mullet bangs.

Amyl and the Sniffers played a lot of tracks from their new LP – which hit #22 in Australia and #91 in the UK – at the show. I’m not sure of the entire set but I for sure remember my top tracks that include “Starfire 500,” “Gacked on Anger,” “Cup of Destiny,” “GFY” as well as possibly “Punisha” and “Shake Ya.” I loved every single moment of every song but I admit that a portion of my attention was focused on not getting crushed by the mosh pit: I had my elbows sharpened and at the ready for the entire Amyl show.

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