Amyl & the Sniffers, the Melbourne, Australia rock band fronted by Amy Taylor, released their sophomore album “Comfort To Me” a few weeks ago via ATO Records/Rough Trade. I was thankful to be a part of a VIP event where the band premiered a filmed performance of the record played in full, in one take, on a slab of concrete in a suburban wasteland somewhere in Melbourne, Australia.
“Comfort To Me”, which was co-produced by the band and Dan Luscombe, is the follow-up to Amyl & the Sniffers’ critically acclaimed 2019 self-titled debut album, which won Australia’s esteemed ARIA Award for Best Rock Album and saw the band tour their anarchic and ridiculously fun live show internationally for the past two years. With its lyrics largely written during the Australian Bushfire season, when The Sniffers were already wearing masks to protect themselves from smoke in the air, Comfort To Me came together in a 3-bedroom apartment where the four band members quarantined together during COVID-19 lockdown. The result is a less spontaneous and more darkly considered record that masterfully captures the essence of the band like never before. “This album is just us — raw self expression, defiant energy, unapologetic vulnerability,” says Taylor. “It was written by four self-taught musicians who are all just trying to get by and have a good time.”
This album, this band. THIS THIS THIS!!!
