Amyl and The Sniffers seem about as fed up as the rest of us with reality’s clutches and buck back as hard as they can with riveting punk rock that doesn’t really care what you think
Release date: October 25, 2024 | Independent | Facebook | Instagram | Stream/Purchase
Nowadays, it’s really easy to get stuck in an endless loop of slop-ass content in any which direction, or to be exposed to the most hateful-ass bullshit on the internet where entire communities do nothing but grift and whine about how things aren’t catering exactly to their needle-eye narrow worldview. Everything’s ‘woke’ or communists’ fault, or both, and reason has been shot in the dick never to reproduce again. It’s a cartoonish sort of villainy. It’s these kinds of mentalities that make music like Amyl and The Sniffers all the more delectable for people sick of the culture war horsefuck.
Like SOFT PLAY did months before, Aussie punkies Amyl and The Sniffers have a refreshing, fun take on punk rock that still doesn’t compromise much in the way of attitude or message. In fact, the first damn song, “Jerkin'”, is one of the fiercest tracks on the album and it’s the first two minutes of this new LP, Cartoon Darkness. Sheltered around a nice, simple melody and pace, it’s aimed at a very specific type of terminally online guy that constantly hates on and criticizes women out of jealously, weirdly misplaced attraction, or because they’ve just never bothered to better themselves at any point. Some lines are earworms – I find myself saying ‘You are ugly all day, I am hot always/You are just a critic and you want to hit it/You are fucking spiders, I am drinking riders‘ in my head randomly. The song has no filter and no fucks, and I love it.
Singer Amy Taylor has a big personality, the kind some people would find intimidating I suppose, but to me she’s friend-shaped because I love free-thinking and acting people that like to buck status quo. All over Cartoon Darkness, she asserts her autonomy and, by proxy, encourages the rest of us to do the same, if only just by how fun she makes it all sound. “Tiny Bikini” is another great example. It’s got an awesome ascending riff that tumbles into an almost classic rock-ish melody before the verses start as Taylor heightens her inflection to single about her favorite ‘teeny-eeny-weeny bikini‘ she’s rocking to the function. If you don’t like it, then I have a feeling the song “U Should Not Be Doing That” is for you (you won’t like that either). I love the second verse especially:
‘Ooh, you think the world is not man enough
So I’m gonna inject some of this cunt
Ooh, if I didn’t show up in something spicy
The cold world would feel even more icy’
Have to say, I agree. It’s not all bold statements though, wardrobe or otherwise. There’s some real-ass sentiments on Cartoon Darkness, the kind to keep in mind to shoo away that very darkness. “Big Dreams” is a slow-burner about wanting better for yourself, having dreams and goals you want to achieve, visualizing yourself as a star, but being woefully held back by your circumstances. Sometimes you build your own prison, others it’s built for you and escaping ain’t so easy. It’s empathetic and I get the sense that Taylor was once in this sort of spot with how she lowers her voice and sings with heavy conviction, like a heart-to-heart conversation with melody. On the opposite side of the tonal spectrum, “Motorbike Song” is explosive and embodies the freedom we could all stand to try, unstrapped from our daily routines of work and sleep, flying down the highway, vibrating from the rush, and also probably the engine between your legs.
Still, I can’t help but return to the brashness that Taylor wields so well. “Me and The Girls” is an anthem and probably the funniest song on the album with this ‘girls rule, boys drool’ sentiment for adults, but as always it’s peppered with realness – ‘Me and the girls, we want free abortions/You and the boys can’t even get waxed‘. This track has a bounce to it that sounds like something Red Hot Chili Peppers would write in the early ’90s (compliment). Really, Cartoon Darkness dances pretty agilely between different instrumental approaches while always keeping nice guitar leads, rumbling bass, and drums that take on many forms at the core which creates their identity. Punk purists will like “It’s Mine”, “Pigs”, maybe “Do It Do It”, and they’re all great in their own right, but every other track shows the band’s eclectic side and willingness to a hit a lot of angles without diluting themselves. Hell yeah.
To be honest, I’m only really reviewing this album because I finally decided to listen to Amyl and The Sniffers after their last LP, Comfort To Me, was showcased by the ADHD hardcore legends The Blood Brothers on Ameoba Music‘s awesome webshow What’s In My Bag? just over a month ago. I listened, loved it, then saw they had an album coming out just one week out, and made a mental note to peep it. A month later, here I am waxing perversely about the thing – it’s a great album with a lot of flair, fronted by Taylor’s unfaltering energy and expert use of the C-word, who’s got me walking around singing ‘ooh, I just wanna wear my bikini‘ in my head – never worn a bikini in my life.
The world is indeed enshrouded in some sort of wack-ass cartoon darkness. I hate it, and yet I must laugh at a lot of it, not because it’s pleasant and funny but because it’s so ridiculous that we’ve gotten to this point with naysayers, haters, bigots, and generally harassing people on all levels of society that need genuine professional help, or to get their asses kicked for the first time in their lives. There’s some tickling truth bombs on Cartoon Darkness and while I wish people would shut the fuck up and listen to what’s being said and take it to heart because it captures the thoughts of thousands, perhaps millions of people, all while cooking up catchy and rousing punk instrumentation that pays homage to the past as much as it does its own thing. If you get a headache after, that just means it worked.
Band photo by Steve Appleford
