LIVE REVIEW: Amyl and the Sniffers, Upchuck, O2 Academy, Birmingham, 10/11/2024
Photo Credit: John Angus Stewart
The much anticipated third album from Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers, Cartoon Darkness was released on 25th October and it is an album packed with raw punk and rock tracks and the best yet from the Melbourne quartet. They are now touring the album around the UK and every one of the gigs was sold out proving the massive pull that this band have around the UK. Circumstances were fighting against us initially to see The Sniffers on the Cartoon Darkness tour as the planned thirty mile to Glasgow to see them was soon washed away after unexpected family circumstances (a bike accident leading to a son with two broken arms!). The alternative? A six-hundred mile road trip to Birmingham’s O2 Academy on a dreich Sunday night was on the cards, the things you do to see your favourite band!
Arriving at the O2 Academy just before 7.30pm, the 3500-capacity venue was filling up nicely for support band Upchuck and it was a really good choice of support. After a short time the band from Atlanta, USA took to the stage to a huge roar of appreciation as vocalist Kaila “KT” Thompson immediately impressed the crowd with her stage presence and attitude, at one point spitting water on to the crowd to make sure they were awake. Upchuck seem to have been hand picked by Amy Taylor herself as the similarities between both vocalists are surreal in their stage antics, it’s not long until “KT” is crowd surfing as the drummer takes over vocal duties in Spanish, the crowd are loving this. American politics is a hot topic right now and there is no holding back KT as she encourages the crowd to join in with a “fuck Trump” moment, the five-piece have released two albums, the latest being 2023 release Bite The Hand That Feeds, the best tracks of the set were Freaky and Facecard, the crowd were now well warmed up for the main act. 9/10
One thing was guaranteed tonight: it was going to be a sweaty one for every single person in the venue and as The Sniffers took to the stage the anticipation from the crowd was incredible. Immediately playing Doing In Me Head from their latest album, they would play eleven songs from Cartoon Darkness tonight and every track was sung back to the stage. Freaks To The Front is a shorter track but that didn’t matter to this crowd as the first mosh pits of the night opened up with a couple of fans maybe getting a little too excited by throwing drinks on to the stage. This didn’t bother Amy Taylor one bit as she strutted around the stage making sure everyone was paying close attention, there was no respite for us between tracks as Dec Mehrtens played the first chords of Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled) sending the capacity crowd wild all around us, the audience are a mix of teenagers right up to pensioners, this band is for everyone. What stands out for us tonight is how the new tracks have transitioned seamlessly into the setlist with the relative newness of the album as the set continued with Facts (non-album track) and a more upbeat ska-influenced Do It Do It. Drummer Bryce Wilson opens one of the best songs of the set; Security with a thrashing intro, Amy doesn’t even need to sing this one as the crowd are doing it for her. It’s a big chance for the fans to let go and that they certainly do with mosh pits, crowd surfing, drinks flying all around and nobody has a care in the world as they all express themselves in whatever form that takes. This writer was quite tired earlier after working early followed by a seven hour drive but all that had been forgotten about now as the sweat was dripping from our forehead.
The songs move back and forth from the Comfort To Me album to Cartoon Darkness seamlessly, the next couple of tracks are special with Guided By Angels and Knifey from the first mentioned album keeping the energy high. Followed by another new one in Pigs proving that punk is definitely not dead, here is a three minute song that radiates pure raw punk music and is one of the best of the set tonight for us. Some say that the mood of the nation sets the music trends and bands such as Amyl and the Sniffers are redefining the punk music scene right now in the UK and beyond. Maggot is another sing-along track as Taylor screams “Maggots, carcase, maggots for free/Come on maggot put your maggot in me”, even though it is a Sunday night not one person is standing still as we now move into a few songs from Cartoon Darkness with Chewing Gum, Motorbike Song and Big Dreams pushing the crowd into fever pitch. Big Dreams is a more laid back song with some punchy lyrics and is yet another standout and one of the best on the album while I Got You encourages the fans to sing the chorus back to the stage, bass player Gus Romer is excellent during this track. Another four from the latest album follow this in Tiny Bikini, Me and the Girls and the lead single U Should Not Be Doing That are followed quickly by Jerkin’, which isn’t one for the easily offended with its lyrical content but a statement track and the opener on Cartoon Darkness which will either stop you listening or pull you in. The main set ends with Hertz, the band’s biggest song to date that recently hit twenty million streams on Spotify but they are soon back for a two track encore starting with Balaclava Lover Boogie, a tribute to the area of Melbourne that they grew up. There was only one song that could end an exhausting night: GFY (Go Fuck Yourself) as middle fingers were raised all around and Gus Romer’s opening bass chords reverberate around the hall, it’s a short song to end the set but nobody is complaining about that! Amy Taylor and the guys put on an absolute masterclass performance tonight that will live long in the memory of ours and we are sure the other fans there to witness this. If you get the chance to see Amyl and the Sniffers during this world tour we would highly recommend it, trust us they won’t be playing in these size of venues for long, the next one could potentially be an arena tour. Was it worth the long road trip? Damn right it was! 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
