Melbourne-based punk rock group Amyl and The sniffers return for their sophomore album with more guts, more violence and even more heart.
After their 2019 ARIA award for Best Rock Album, the Sniffers are not startled by the challenge of a highly anticipated second release. Dubbed “the most exciting live band on the planet” by NME, the quartet is charged and ready to riot after a year at home, an experience one can imagine to be near impossible for such a force. Locked in a three-bedroom house together over the pandemic, they emerge with a more empassioned collection of fuck you-s to anyone who stands in their way.
Every member of the band seems to have been at a year long boot camp in their chosen instrument. Lead vocalist Amy Taylor roars at the grasp of the male gaze with more clarity than ever, unflinching in telling people exactly where they can stick it “I am still a smart girl if I’m dressing daggy / I am still a tough girl / Don’t you fucking bag me”. Her lionhearted lyricism is what gives her the crown of Australian punk’s biggest badass, but with this release she dares to let us in to the softer parts of her psyche with track “No More Tears”. If anyone can write a self-conscious lovesong and put it in a punk album, it’s her.
Guitarist Dec Martens graduates with flying colours from pub-rock to 70s/80s metal with soaring riffs and ecstatic solos, adding the verve that lifts this album far above its forerunner. Hand in hand with the rhythm section comprised of Gus Romer and Bryce Wilson, the band never miss a beat.
Amyl and The Sniffers are as raw and riotous as we’ve ever seen them in a record that exceeds expectations and then some. They’re here to have fun, and god help anyone who gets in their way.
Rating: 8.5/10
Nuwanda Reviews 