SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS – COMFORT TO ME

Amyl And The Sniffers
Comfort To Me
Rough Trade Records

Straight out of the gate, Comfort To Me, the second full release from Australia’s garage punk quartet, Amyl and the Sniffers, grabs you roughly by the collar and throws you into a seething sweaty mosh pit, and if ever there were a way to make a statement via music, this album is definitely saying it loud and clear.

Vocalist Amy Taylor’s delivery is nothing short of exhilarating. She is a fucking hurricane of swinging limbs, kicks, knees, and whiplash head banging. Even when simply listening I can’t help but feel her energy blasting out from the speakers and soaking into my skin, producing a non-stop shit eating grin from start to finish.

One thing I really love about Amy’s forceful style is how she’s so brutally vulnerable and self aware, and it’s not in the warm fuzzy “awww” kind of way. She knows that she’s short and awkward but it won’t stop her from walking tall and proudly. She wants to make a difference in the world but doesn’t know if she’s even got the energy for it. She knows there are crappy dudes out there but it doesn’t stop her weird romantic heart from beating, and her fists from beating on the truly crappy ones who slight her.

“Guided By Angels” is a punishing tune that wastes no time in assuring you that this roughshod blonde mullet sportin’ gal ain’t nobody to be trifled with. She will punch your face and kick you in the teeth with a smile. “Hertz” explores Amy’s daydreams of better things, wanting the romance of hand holding and road trips out into the country. The fact that this album was conceived and recorded during the pandemic lockdown in Melbourne makes the cabin fever vibe of this tune all the more frantic and frustrated.

It’s not often that I hear albums like this, full of songs that make me feel charged up and getting my body moving in ways that are foreign to me, where the music is loud in my head and my head is a blur of head swinging. It’s got just enough anger to get you feeling, just enough self aware humour to have you smiling, and more than enough of a political and personal output to make you think.

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