If you're really looking for a fast-paced trip of punk rock, fiery vocals, and angry performances, then this is your album. Comfort To Me will definitely scratch that itch for finding some new loud punk music that's heavily caffeinated all while breaking through a glass window.
Amyl and The Sniffers hail from Melbourne, Australia and have quite an amount of energy to say the very least. They've been pouring some chocolate covered espresso beans in their venti cups of flat white lattes (insert Australian coffee joke punchline here). The to-the-point punk rock songs are an explosive punch to the face and kick to the gut. Vocalist Amy Taylor is quite the frantic, wild, and charismatic performer. On record, she definitely sounds like she'll just break a beer bottle over your skull simply because you looked at her funny. I'll admit, I am not familiar with Amyl and The Sniffers at all. Which one's Amyl and which one's The Sniffers? All the buzz around the band's second album, Comfort To Me, caught my eye and peaked my interest. I didn't know a single thing going into it and that's for the best. The album's quick, jabbing delivery of guitars, bass, drums and Taylor's maddening shouts and howls make it quite the experience.
The band's fiery off-the-wall energy is infectious. After listening to this record it makes me want to go out to a gym and knock (and miraculously fail at) some punching bags down to disintegration. The instrumentals are punchy and its guitar grooves are memorable. Its simplicity is admirable and yet the band seems to try new things and succeed at them. Taylor's vocals and performances are the best thing about this record. You can visualize her freakish movements and feel the sweat and grit on stage just from listening to the record alone. To me it sounds like if Courtney Barnett got super angry, joined a punk band, and was on 10 cups of straight espresso. "Guided By Angels" has Taylor admitting she gets energy like its currency and has plenty of it. "Hertz" is another favorite with its dimensional guitar grooves and frantic pace, a track on escaping your worries to a freeing paradise. "Security" also has great guitar grooves and speedy vocal deliveries similar to classic punk rock bands from the 90's. Other highlights include "Don't Fence Me In," "Capital," and "Knifey."
If you're really looking for a fast paced trip of punk rock, fiery vocals, and angry performances, then this is your album. It'll definitely scratch that itch for finding some new loud punk music. The performances are tight, vocals are great, lyrics are memorable, and production is solid. Don't expect anything incredibly new or out of the box stuff. Amyl and The Sniffers do the simple and straightforward and do it well.
My Rating: 7 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Hertz," "Don't Fence Me In," "Capital"
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